Jonathan Taylor says he has not asked the Indianapolis Colts for a trade, and he does not like hearing that his team is rebuilding. Two days after the Colts traded Quenton Nelson and DeForest Buckner, their star running back was asked on Thursday where he stands. “I haven’t heard anything, and I can’t control that,” Taylor said. “Obviously, like you guys know that I’m always proud to wear the horseshoe, proud to be here.”
He then compared himself with the two players who just left. “Similar to Quenton and Buck, they were proud to wear the horseshoe. They were proud to be here, but obviously circumstances may cause otherwise,” Taylor said. “So hopefully that day may not come, but I can’t control that.”
The Colts are 2-5 after three straight losses, and they fired general manager Chris Ballard last week. On Tuesday they sent Nelson to the Seattle Seahawks for a 2027 third-round pick and a 2028 fifth-round pick, and Buckner to the San Francisco 49ers for a 2027 fourth-round pick. Several teams have asked about Taylor before the November 10 trade deadline. Coach Shane Steichen said on Wednesday that Taylor had not requested a trade, and the same day Jeremy Fowler reported that wide receiver Josh Downs had asked to be moved.
“You think we’re rebuilding?”
When a reporter asked if he was fine with being part of a rebuild, Taylor answered with a question. “You think we’re rebuilding?” he said. “I would say we’re going out there trying to win.” He went on: “Not only for myself, but everybody in this locker room, no one goes out there to wave the white flag and surrender. No, we’re going out there to compete. We’re going out there to get a W, to get a win.”
Asked a second time whether he had requested a trade, Taylor said: “No, and then that’s why I’m like, that’d be crazy to even say, because we’ve got a division opponent. I don’t know how to emphasize this to you guys.” He said the Jacksonville Jaguars think “they’re going to kick us while we’re down,” and added: “Right now we need to band together more than ever.”
Taylor said the Nelson and Buckner deals hurt. “It was all speculation until stuff started happening. And like Quenton, Buck, I mean, those guys are the gold standard of the NFL,” he said. “And obviously, the business side of things, that’s where it sucks at. I wish some way, somehow, I could have done more because I wanted to win for those guys.” Both of them, he said, “showed me how to be a pro, they showed me how to be a leader,” and “no matter how much you come to terms with it, it’s still going to sting.”
“Your best resume is your film”
Taylor said he has talked with principal owner Carlie Irsay-Gordon, but he did not ask her whether he would stay. “I just know that they have a plan, and whatever that plan is, it’s going to be for the better of the franchise, for the future, for the fans,” he said. Asked if she had told him he would not be traded, he answered: “Oh, I didn’t talk to her about that, no.”
He said he knows how the business works. “You know that the day always comes, for many players, whether you like it or not, the day may come. You may get lucky enough to stay somewhere forever, but you understand the business side of it,” Taylor said. “The business side is going to move with or without you, with or without your permission, with or without you knowing.” His answer is to play well and treat people well: “Your best resume is your film and how you treat people in the building.”
Taylor has 140 carries for 587 yards and eight touchdowns this season, plus 17 catches for 178 yards. He has run for at least 90 yards in five of seven games but has not reached 100 in any of them. In Sunday’s 16-10 loss at Minnesota he ran 18 times for 95 yards and the Colts’ only touchdown, a 38-yard run.
Grover Stewart: “It really hurt me”
Nose tackle Grover Stewart had lined up next to Buckner since 2020, and he did not hide how he felt about the trade. “It really hurt me, seeing my guy going back home and stuff like that. It hurt me,” he said. Buckner was a first-round pick of the 49ers in 2016 before the Colts traded for him that year. “It’s a lifetime bond. Brother, best friend, the dynamic duo,” Stewart said. “It’s just a bond you can’t ever break.”
Asked whether he thinks he could be traded too, Stewart said: “That’s not a thought.” Asked whether he wants to be in Indianapolis past the deadline, he said: “Whenever the season’s over with, that’s when I deal with that.” He said he will lead the defense now. “Buck was a great guy, a great leader. He always helped out everybody, and losing him, it takes a toll,” Stewart said. “But then again, I’m still here, so I’m gonna lead the young guys. I’m gonna lead the locker room, the team, and keep doing my job.”
About Nelson, his old opponent in practice, Stewart joked: “I can’t talk trash to him anymore until we play him.” His message to the locker room was short. “My goal is don’t flinch, man. I still got a job to do,” he said. Of the Colts’ trips to Jacksonville, he said: “I know we haven’t won down there in a minute now, but every year different.”
The Colts, tied with the Houston Texans for second in the AFC South, play at the 4-2 Jaguars on Sunday, November 1, at 1:00 p.m. ET, which is 8:00 p.m. in Cairo.
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