Less than a week remains until the NFL trade deadline. With the deadline falling on Tuesday, November 10, ESPN’s Adam Schefter said this week that he expects the Indianapolis Colts to trade running back Jonathan Taylor before the window closes, sports.yahoo.com reported. The 27-year-old has become the biggest name on the market after Indianapolis opened the door to offers on its star back, and Schefter believes the front office is simply waiting for the right package to materialize before the deadline expires.
Speaking on “The Adam Schefter Podcast” with Ty Schmit of “The Pat McAfee Show,” the ESPN senior NFL insider laid out his read on the situation in detail. “Jonathan Taylor is the biggest name out there. Could be traded at any point in time,” Schefter said. “My read on that is that the Indianapolis Colts have offers from teams. They’re going to wait to see if these teams sweeten the offers, if they can get a better offer. And I think in the end … whether it’s today, this week, next week, I think in the end they decide to move Jonathan Taylor. That’s my guess.”
The stakes are concrete for a franchise that has spent the past week watching its roster thin out one trade at a time. At 2-6, the Colts have already embraced a selling posture, and Taylor represents the most valuable remaining asset on the board. Heavy.com reports that while Taylor remains under contract for two more years through 2028, the organization has concluded that a rebuild is already underway and that handing the ball to a veteran running back on a team not equipped to win games does little to advance that project in the short term.
Some trade deadline thoughts as Tuesday, Nov. 10 draws closer. Cc: @tyschmit 🎧 https://t.co/bidFA9LzeX pic.twitter.com/JXMRL40VXo
Production Has Slipped During a 2-6 Season
The football case for dealing Taylor intensified Sunday. In a 42-7 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars at EverBank Stadium that dropped Indianapolis to 2-6, Taylor carried eight times for 23 yards. On the season, he has 610 rushing yards and eight touchdowns on 148 carries, a 4.1-yard average that trails the 4.9 he posted in 2025. Pro Football Focus grades his rushing at 65.8, ranking 30th among 47 qualifying backs.
Those numbers stand in marked contrast to what Taylor delivered a year ago, and they arrive as the calendar tightens toward the trade deadline. Taylor signed a two-year, $44 million extension this year, and his $15 million base salary for 2027 becomes fully guaranteed in February, according to Over the Cap. Moving him now turns a 27-year-old back into draft capital before that money locks in, a financial reality the front office cannot ignore as it evaluates the offers on the table.
Indianapolis Already Turned Down a Second-Round Pick
The Colts are holding out for significantly more than a mid-round selection. According to The Ringer’s Tom Pelissero, Indianapolis has already turned down a second-round pick, and having several contenders bidding against each other is the cleanest way to push the price past that threshold. Heavy.com notes that the team could theoretically keep Taylor through 2028, asking whether shipping him off is necessary when the contract runs that long, but the front office appears convinced that accumulating draft capital now outweighs the value of retaining a veteran back on a rebuilding roster that cannot count on competing during the next two years of his deal.
Vikings, Giants, Broncos and Packers Circle the Star Back
“We have the Vikings, Giants, Broncos, Packers, others interested in Jonathan Taylor,” he said. “They’re all not going to get Jonathan Taylor. “One team might get Jonathan Taylor.” Heavy.com adds that Schefter also expects the Colts to move Josh Downs, whose contract is expiring, but Taylor is the biggest name in trade rumors.”
What Taylor Himself Expects
Taylor has not asked for a trade, and after Sunday’s loss he was warning teammates that it would get harder as the season progressed. He told reporters he kept his phone on, ready for the call that could come at any moment. Schefter relayed Taylor’s own words about the mounting speculation: “I got my phone on, and I don’t know when all of a sudden it’s going to start overheating, but it’s going to overheat at some point between now and next Tuesday.”
The deadline arrives Tuesday, November 10.
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