Doyel: Colts RB Jonathan Taylor knows he won't get a huge contract and isn't taking it well
WESTFIELD – Jonathan Taylor was everywhere and nowhere on Day 1 of Colts camp at Grand Park, where his No. 28 jersey was the most commonly seen accoutrement in the crowd. And this was a big crowd, not quite the largest in training camp history for the Colts, but close. The grandstands were full, and fans were lining the opposite sideline. There were a good number of No. 53 and No. 5 jerseys in the crowd too, and those folks got what they came to see: Linebacker Shaq Leonard moving fairly well during practice, and quarterback Anthony Richardson making the physically difficult look simple.
More on both of those guys in a minute.
This is primarily a Jonathan Taylor story, and it’s not like any story anyone, anywhere, has ever written. Because nobody, nowhere, has written the following sentence:
Jonathan Taylor is acting strange.
Or this one:
I’m starting to wonder about Jonathan Taylor’s future here.
When he was in high school in New Jersey, in college at Wisconsin, even during Taylor’s first three seasons here with the Colts, nobody would’ve written such a thing. Taylor has always been a dream teammate, dream person. Faster than everyone on the field, smarter than most of us, and super nice to boot. Transparently lovable, is one way to describe him.
Now? Vaguely unlikeable.
It’s the PUP list. It’s the T-shirt. It’s the Twitter activity. Taken individually, you could easily explain any of that away. Taken as a whole, at this unique time and place for the NFL running back market? And as Colts are playing more hardball than normal with a homegrown star?
It's alarming. But if you’d like to read some good news first, hey, here’s some, um, good news: I have some!
Doyel: Colts GM Chris Ballard optimistic, and realistic, about Shaq Leonard, Jonathan Taylor
Colts camp observations: Excitement for rookie QB Anthony Richardson era evident
Shaq Leonard looks good, Anthony Richardson great
Shaq Leonard wasn’t moving like an All-Pro linebacker, but he wasn’t moving in a way that set off alarms like, you know, the way Taylor has been setting them off with his actions SORRY BACK TO THE GOOD NEWS.
More: Colts LB Shaquille Leonard passes physical, not cleared for full-contact
One day earlier, Colts general manager Chris Ballard had said Leonard passed his physical but would participate only in individual drills. One day earlier, Ballard was cautious as he discussed Leonard’s timetable to return to 11-on-11 drills – “no timetable,” he actually said – but there was Leonard participating in 11-on-11 drills.
“Today was the best I’ve felt in a long time,” Leonard said after practice, though he said he wouldn’t know exactly how to feel about his return until he watched film to see how he looked relative to teammates. What does that mean? Well, Leonard’s generally the most explosive Colts defender near the line of scrimmage. He’ll want to see if that remains true after undergoing a second back surgery in November to alleviate a nerve issue that was affecting his lower leg.
As for Richardson, well, he looked exactly like you’d think he looked – if you know about his performance at the 2023 NFL Scouting Combine, I mean. If this is the first time you’ve heard about Richardson’s record-setting physical performance in Downtown Indianapolis, congratulations on getting off that deserted island you’ve been stuck since April 21. Seriously. Take me with you next time, so I can stop watching Taylor’s crumbling public persona SORRY BACK TO THE GOOD NEWS.
Richardson on Wednesday was flicking his wrist and throwing accurate darts from short range during 11-on-11 drills, and he was keeping the ball on read-options plays and running into the end zone, but this is when he did that thing he does, where he just looks different:
Red zone drills are over. The offense is running through the end zone to the adjacent field. Richardson is skipping along, not a care in the world, just gliding. The only time I move this effortlessly, I’m driving my Honda Civic. Richardson is approaching the goalpost in the back of the end zone when he casually skips a little higher than normal … and smacks the crossbar with both wrists.
The crossbar is 10 feet above the ground. Richardson is 6-4. He’d have been a fine basketball player.
Which reminds me of former Pacers star Victor Oladipo, and a Jonathan Taylor comparison that ought to terrify you.
Jonathan Taylor: Victor Oladipo 2.0?
Remember when Oladipo was perfect? Remember when everything changed?
It was the injury, but it was more than that. It was the money.
Oladipo was perfect here for about 18 months: player, teammate, quote, you name it. Oladipo was young and healthy and headed toward a huge nine-figure payday, and we were reaping the benefits. Then he suffered that gruesome injury to his patellar tendon in January 2019, and the Pacers unloaded him in January 2021 not to be cruel, but because everything about Oladipo had changed, mainly these two items: His future earnings, and his happiness here.
Cause-and-effect gets no clearer.
Is that what we’re seeing with Taylor? Pains me even to ask, but I’m asking. Like, why is this preternaturally mature young man – 23 and going on 40 last year – using Twitter recently to pout about the NFL running back market? Why is this always smiling, always all-about-the-team player reporting to 2023 Indianapolis Colts camp scowling and wearing a T-shirt that reads: “Welcome to Taylortown, Indiana”?
📍 Back at #ColtsCamp. pic.twitter.com/vplt5wcgdl
— Indianapolis Colts (@Colts) July 25, 2023
Why is he on the PUP (physically unable to perform) list? To remind you, Taylor underwent ankle surgery in January. Also, Ballard on Tuesday had told us at about 12:15 p.m. that he knew of two Colts players who would be on the PUP list, neither named “Jonathan Taylor.” Less than five hours later, the Colts announced three players on the PUP list. One of them was named, well, you get it.
Taylor was in the building when Ballard had spoken earlier Tuesday, but maybe he hadn’t taken his physical yet. Maybe this is legit. Or maybe, when you combine this one large thing – the Colts’ best player showing up unexpectedly on the PUP list – with all those small things like his adolescent Twitter account and look-at-me T-shirt and decision not to speak with reporters until he’s off the PUP list … maybe this takes on a difficult look.
Heard of Occam’s Razor? It’s brilliant. Basically says this: The most obvious explanation tends to be the correct explanation.
Why was Jonathan Taylor on the PUP list on Tuesday afternoon and watching practice Wednesday, seven weeks after telling media he expected to be active for camp? Could it be because he wants a new contract, has been tracking (and whining about) the NFL’s declining running back marketplace, and then on Tuesday heard Ballard list possible reasons for Taylor not getting the money he seeks?
The explanation seems obvious, does it not?
Ballard, I’ll remind you, had said on Tuesday that “we think very highly of Jonathan” and “our history is very good” of extending great young players like him. Then he added that the Colts have a new coaching staff – is Taylor auditioning for Shane Steichen? – and said of Taylor’s salary hopes, twice, that the team wasn’t very good last season. Leaving unsaid, according to Occam’s Razor: How valuable can he REALLY be?
So, did Taylor’s placement on the PUP list come as a surprise to Steichen? I asked him Wednesday, and he was not, shall we say, helpful.
Not to get all Occam’s Razor on you for a third time, but see what you think after reading the following. First, here’s what Steichen said when another reporter asked about Taylor’s possible return date.
“We’ll see how long that takes,” Steichen said, “but once he’s 100% healthy, he’ll be out there.”
A few minutes later, this happened.
Me: When did you know Taylor was going to go on the PUP list? Did that come as a surprise to you?
Steichen: “Yeah, no, it came out when he came in and did his stuff. So it came out and – that’s when it happened.”
Me: You had no idea going in? Your 1,000-yard rusher, and you had no idea?
Steichen: “Yes. Well, yeah. But so, he had to have his physical and stuff. So yeah we just want to make sure he’s 100%, and when he is, he’ll be out there.”
No idea what any of that means. I’d love to ask Taylor to translate, and not just because he’s the topic, but because he’s among the smartest people in the building. No kidding, the guy was accepted to attend Harvard and Yale and he wanted to major in astrophysics at Wisconsin, only to learn the school didn’t offer it. After considering a double major – astronomy and physics, obviously – Taylor went another direction and became a philosophy major. Got his degree one year after turning pro and everything.
A serious student, this guy, and a deep thinker.
Wish I knew what the hell Jonathan Taylor is thinking now.
Find IndyStar columnist Gregg Doyel on Twitter at @GreggDoyelStar or at www.facebook.com/greggdoyelstar.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Colts: Jonathan Taylor is acting strange and I wonder about his future
