Could the Colts really trade RB Jonathan Taylor following Jim Irsay Twitter beef?
By Hunter Haas
Colts owner Jim Irsay did what Colts owner Jim Irsay does best Wednesday evening. In an ill-advised post from his official Twitter account, Irsay took a direct shot at running backs — and their agents. Including the agent of All-Pro Jonathan Taylor.
NFL Running Back situation- We have negotiated a CBA,that took years of effort and hard work and compromise in good faith by both sides..to say now that a specific Player category wants another negotiation after the fact,is inappropriate. Some Agents are selling ‘bad faith’..
— Jim Irsay (@JimIrsay) July 26, 2023
On one hand, the 64-year-old has a point. The players did agree to the 2020 Collective Bargaining Agreement fairly recently. The next set of negotiations won’t take place until the end of the current decade. Until then, try as they might… running backs have little recourse to ratify any change.
On the other hand, Irsay’s team, the Colts, are currently locked in a stalemate with their star running back, Jonathan Taylor. The former second-round pick is entering the final season of his rookie deal. He is seeking a new deal, which includes future security and a hefty pay raise.
To outright say that agents are acting in bad faith will undoubtedly lead to tension toward the franchise. In fact, Taylor’s agent, Malki Kawa, “quote-tweeted” Mr. Irsay saying as much. Although, it took far fewer words for Kawa to convey his point.
Bad faith is not paying your top offensive player https://t.co/ZYvrLhxygG
— malki kawa (@malkikawa) July 27, 2023
A further look at Kawa’s “liked” tweets paints an even dimmer view of Taylor’s future in Indianapolis. Multiple tweets liked by the agent were calling for the former Wisconsin Badger to demand a trade. Now, this doesn’t mean much on the surface. But given recent events, it is worth reading into.
To complicate things more, Taylor is still recovering from an off-season surgery on the ankle that hampered him all of 2022. I will never question the validity of an injury, but reports surrounding the infamous “RB Zoom meeting” are enough to make a person wonder.
Reports say that running backs could “exaggerate” injuries to prevent fines for not participating in team activities. Effectively, it would be a “hold-in” by citing phantom injuries. We, of course, know that Taylor’s injury was legitimate, but is there a chance he is milking it due to current events in the NFL world? Probably not. But the chances are greater than zero.
Could the Colts really trade RB Jonathan Taylor following Jim Irsay Twitter beef?
Regardless, push will come to shove for the franchise and its All-Pro talent sooner or later. If things become more hostile and negotiations fail to go anywhere, would general manager Chris Ballard really consider trading away Taylor? If so, which teams fit as potential suitors?