'I want to retire a Colt,' but running back Jonathan Taylor also wants a lucrative contract

INDIANAPOLIS — Jonathan Taylor believes he’s worth the investment.

Believes he brings enough to the Colts and the city of Indianapolis that he’s earned a lucrative second contract, the kind of deal teams have increasingly been reluctant to hand to running backs.

But Colts general manager Chris Ballard already has a track record of handing big deals to star players at non-premium positions, and Taylor has taken notice.

He wants to be next in line.

From April: Taylor says not getting contract done 'wouldn’t be a distraction to me'

“You look at the past, and guys who have shown their value on and off the field tend to stay here,” Taylor said. “My goal, the first season after I got drafted, I’m like ‘I want to retire a Colt.’ Hopefully the organization sees that the same, because I do.”

Taylor is headed into the final year of his rookie contract.

Under Ballard, Indianapolis has traditionally locked up its draft picks before they get close to free agency, and the deals have almost always been signed during training camp or in the days leading up to the season opener. Ryan Kelly, Braden Smith, Shaquille Leonard, Nyheim Hines and Quenton Nelson signed long-term extensions between the start of training camp and the start of the regular season.

From the sounds of it, Taylor and his new agents, Malki Kawa and Ethan Lock, have taken notice. Kawa and Lock negotiated Leonard’s five-year, $99.25 million extension.

“We definitely have approached (the Colts),” Taylor said. “Hopefully, that they can see the value, hopefully we can explain the value, not that it needs explanation. But we just want to be here, like I said, to help the team, help uplift the community. We’ll see where things go. It’s kind of on them right now."

The position Taylor plays complicates negotiations.

The message NFL teams have been sending running backs is that the juice isn’t worth the squeeze.

Taylor’s taken notice.

“You definitely have to pay attention, just so you know, OK, what type of space are you entering into,” Taylor said.

NFL teams have been increasingly reluctant to give big second contracts to running backs, wary of the pitfalls of contracts paid out to players like Christian McCaffrey, Ezekiel Elliott and Dalvin Cook at a position with a notoriously short shelf life.

Elliott and Cook were released this offseason. Raiders star Josh Jacobs hasn’t signed his franchise tag yet and Giants superstar Saquon Barkley made headlines this week by saying he’s frustrated by leaks about offers he’s reportedly turned down while he holds off on signing his own franchise tag.

“Seeing guys fight, you just hope that things work out for them,” Taylor said. “You see why guys, they request trades. They just want to feel valued, not only by their coaches, their teammates, but the organization as well, and I think it’s something you’ve got to continue to do.”

Running backs once ruled the NFL.

But the rise of the passing game over the past several decades, along with the rise of committee approaches at the position, has lowered the position’s value. Atlanta bucked the trend somewhat by using the No. 8 pick on Texas star Bijan Robinson, and a handful of running backs have signed big second contracts with the teams that drafted them, but in general, the position is no longer seen as a spot to make big investments.

“It’s sad, and it sucks,” Taylor said. “Specifically, speaking for the running back position, because I can speak firsthand, we do a lot. … You just want to be appreciated for what you bring to the team.”

Taylor has rushed for 3,841 yards and 33 touchdowns in his first three seasons as a Colt, and he nearly carried the team to the playoffs in a brilliant 2021 season that produced a franchise-record 1,811 rushing yards and 20 total touchdowns, earning him first team All-Pro honors and a spot in the MVP conversation.

A lingering high ankle sprain, along with the Colts’ disastrous decisions on the offensive line, limited Taylor to just 861 yards, four touchdowns and 4.5 yards per carry last season.

Taylor underwent surgery to repair the ankle shortly after the end of the season, and he sat out the team’s spring practices, but he’s hoping to be ready for the start of training camp in July.

“That’s definitely the goal,” Taylor said.

From an organizational standpoint, the Colts have repeatedly sung Taylor’s praises.

Indianapolis owner Jim Irsay tabbed getting Taylor healthy as one of the team’s most important priorities this offseason, and Ballard set the table this offseason by emphatically saying he believed some running backs still deserve top dollar.

“When they’re a special playmaker, it is,” Ballard said.

New Colts head coach Shane Steichen seems to agree with that sentiment.

Asked this week about the value an elite running back can bring to an offense, Steichen set the bar for an elite running back clearly.

“Shoot, I think when you’ve got a guy that can break big runs (it’s special),” Steichen said. “There are guys that can get three or four yards a pop, but when you’ve got a guy that can really hit it and create those explosives in the run game, I think that definitely helps your offense.”

When Taylor was healthy, his ability to hit the home run on any carry was exactly what set him apart from the rest of the league, and he’s always been the sort of model citizen the Colts like to reward with big dollars.

“You just hope, from the track record here, that things are being evaluated the right way,” Taylor said. “You want to make sure at the end of the day, you guys are winning games, you want to win championships. I feel like there’s a lot more with this organization. It’s, what are you doing in the community? Are you trying to uplift the community? Are you trying to uplift your teammates? You just hope that the organization sees that value and everything you’re trying to provide, not only to the team, but also to the community.”

Taylor clearly believes he’s made a case to be paid.

And based on the Colts’ prior history, the time to get that deal done is over the next couple of months.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Colts running back Jonathan Taylor wants contract extension