Nick Foles Urges Colts to Trade 27-Year-Old Jonathan Taylor for High Draft Picks

Q: How will Jonathan Taylor's expensive contract guarantees through 2028 complicate his potential blockbuster move to a cap-strapped team?

Taylor’s deal makes a trade possible, but it becomes much harder for a cap-strapped contender because the acquiring team is not just buying this season’s production — it is taking on a near-immediate multiyear financial commitment. The short-term hit is manageable. After a trade, a new team would owe only the prorated remainder of Taylor’s 2026 base salary, plus per-game roster bonuses, which several reports peg at roughly $4 million to $5 million depending on timing. That is why a deadline move can still work on this year’s cap. The complication comes right after the season. Taylor’s 2027 compensation, reported around $16 million, is set to become fully guaranteed in late February, shortly after the Super Bowl. That means a team tight against the cap cannot realistically treat him as a rental or a wait-and-see addition. If it acquires him, it must be prepared almost immediately to carry that guaranteed 2027 money on top of his sizable 2028 number, which functions more like a team option but still sits on the books at a high figure. For teams such as Minnesota or Denver that already have limited flexibility and other major roster costs looming, that likely means restructures, extensions, cuts elsewhere, or salary being offset in some creative way. It also depresses the field of bidders: only contenders with both draft capital and cap planning can justify paying premium trade compensation and then absorbing a running back contract that quickly escalates into guaranteed money.

1 articles · Updated · Fox News · Nov 10

Nick Foles said the rebuilding Colts should consider moving Jonathan Taylor before Tuesday’s 4 p.m. ET trade deadline, even though he would prefer to keep his former teammate on football grounds.
Foles said Indianapolis has already shown its direction by dealing Quenton Nelson and DeForest Buckner, making a Taylor trade logical if the team can secure premium draft capital.
Jonathan Taylor, 27, is reportedly available along with Daniel Jones and Josh Downs, with owner Carlie Irsay-Gordon and interim GM Ed Dodds taking calls as the Colts act like deadline sellers.
The Colts are said to want a Christian McCaffrey-type return — second-, third- and fourth-round picks plus a future fifth — and Foles said his one request would be sending Taylor to a contender.
The Giants, Broncos and Vikings have been linked to Taylor, underscoring how Indianapolis' rebuild could reshape the market in the final hours before the Nov. 10 deadline.

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Fox News1h ago

Nick Foles Urges Colts to Trade Jonathan Taylor to Contender for Draft Capital

Which NFL contender is truly willing to sacrifice premium draft capital for Jonathan Taylor's massive contract ahead of the deadline?

Could trading away their most reliable offensive weapon actually sabotage the Indianapolis Colts' long-term rebuilding strategy?

How will Jonathan Taylor's expensive contract guarantees through 2028 complicate his potential blockbuster move to a cap-strapped team?

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Fox News1h ago

Nick Foles Urges Colts to Trade Jonathan Taylor to Contender for Draft Capital

Nick Foles Urges Colts to Trade 27-Year-Old Jonathan Taylor for High Draft Picks

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