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Quote:

Originally Posted by ChoppedWood (Post 269872)

JT just tweeted:
1- Never had a back pain
2- Never reported back pain
Not sure who "sources" are, but find new ones

Oh yeah, this is headed straight to hell.

Unbelievable the unraveling.

:D I don't think Colts would just make that up...bet they have a source!

So who reported the back injury? I see Chappell and Holder attached to it and they are typically solid.

Doesn't necessarily mean JT is lying, but... If JT is being honest, that would mean a dishonest leak from the Colts... but what do the Colts stand to gain by making JT look worse at this point?

I can't think of a reason, which makes me lean toward believing the back injury is real.

Well, Mike Chappell is confident enough in his source that he wrote an article on this recent news with the back injury...

----
After the Colts ended their offseason work in mid-June, they preferred Taylor remain in Indy while completing his rehab from surgery in January on his right ankle. His rehab forced him to miss all of the on-field work.

But Taylor opted to prepare for training camp by working out with his associates in Arizona.

The bottom line: the Colts clearly were aware of the ankle situation, but Taylor never mentioned a back injury until he reported to Grand Park Sports Complex for his pre-camp physical, according to the source.

Until that time, the team fully expected Taylor to be full-go for camp.
----

I hate to say it, but I just don't believe JT. Chap's always been good.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChaosTheory (Post 269877)

I gotta put a little different perspective on this.

If JT says he doesn't have a back injury then I believe him.

Colts would be stupid to put the NFI tag on JT if he was working out to get better and healthier, to play this upcoming season. Don't burn you're fuckin' bridges until the have to be burned.

I do also believe that JT has probably volunteered to be the RB to fall on the sword for the cause. Too bad, cause it ain't going to work out.

The Colts won't even sniff a 2nd round pick for JT in a trade. Whether it's true or not JT is viewed as damaged goods in the NFL. Not because of the drama and hoopla, but coming off injury and then another (reported, but unsubstantiated injury) makes him almost untradeable.

Also in 40+ years of covering the Colts, how many scoops did Chappy really ever have?

Quote:

Originally Posted by YDFL Commish (Post 269878)

I gotta put a little different perspective on this.

If JT says he doesn't have a back injury then I believe him.

Also in 40+ years of covering the Colts, how many scoops did Chappy really ever have?

You could be right about JT and I couldn't say what Chap has ever broken (don't usually pay attention). As far as I'm aware both he and Stephen Holder have pretty good reputations and both seem to have independently reported the same thing.

Never had JT out to be anything other than a good dude. But he at the very least has some people in his ear that have made him turn heel faster than any player I can think of outside Luck.

Somebody is lying in a significant way. That's quite a story to make up (Colts source) or to deny (Taylor). I can understand JT denying it if it's true. But I don't really understand what the Colts gain by making up the story so I lean toward believing it. I'm sure I could be overlooking something, why do you think?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hoopsdoc (Post 269863)

Now Chappell is reporting that the Colts are considering placing him on the non football injury list due to a back injury he suffered away from the team. Which would leave them the option of voiding his salary this season and just tolling his contract to next year.

Looks like Jim and/or Ballard are willing to play hardball. Or at least act like they will.

Holy shit. It’s stunning how fast this has fallen apart.

I’m starting to wonder if he’ll ever play another down for the Colts.

Let him rot on the bench and ruin his career like Le'Veon Bell did. I've always liked Taylor, and he's good, but he isn't as good as Bell was. Fuck him. Can Moss catch and block? New HC and OC, new offense, new RB in a new role. We move on, Taylor sits and wastes a year. Good luck with that.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChaosTheory (Post 269879)

Yeah, I can’t imagine the Colts would make something like that up out of the blue.

Quote:

Originally Posted by YDFL Commish (Post 269878)

Chap wouldn't make that up in my opinion...a reliable source has told him that JT was complaining of back pain when he reported. My guess is he or his agent figured out later that he may have screwed up telling that, so they have changed their story. I guess it is also possible that the source is lying but Chap is just reporting what he was told. Just my two cents!

I'm not saying that Chappy or Holder are making shit up. Just that their sources might have part of the story right, but have fucked up on the details of who said what. Other than Irsay the Colts have always been very tight lipped. This is not coming from the Colts.

JT is under contract on a rookie deal, that frankly because of last season, he has not surpassed.

He would not get much more on the open market than his $4 million that he is making this season. He needs to play and perform this season to ever achieve the contract he desires.

Colts are already taking a media mud bath over this incident, it would be suicide to just make this up- somewhere he has said something to the training staff about a back problem- again as noted, probably as part of this grand scheme, and probably orchestrated by this new agent as part of the contract strategy. Soooo, there's a paper trail or the Colts wouldn't even attempt to go this route, and that paper trail will completely FUCK JT's chances of landing a trade.

Dude, call up your dude and tell him he's fired. That is your ONLY chance at salvaging your chances at getting paid in accordance with your position going forward. Unbelievable.

Where did this "Taylor isn't a good receiver" narrative come from? His Wisconsin days? He had 76 catches in his first two seasons and 28 in his 11 games last year. Those aren't CMC numbers, but you're probably looking for more rushing and less receiving out of most RBs comparative to CMC. The pass pro thing is valid, but I've thought he has improved over the years in that regard. He's not elite at pass pro or receiving, but he's not a two down back as I saw some posts suggest.

All that said, Taylor was dumb to request a trade on the eve of training camp, even moreso if he took on this supposed mantle of changing the landscape of RB contracts. He was injured last year, his value is nowhere near its peak of the 2022 offseason. He has a chance to rebuild it to that, but that would require not holding out, not requesting a trade, and not making every possible franchise alienating move in an attempt to expedite your contract by 6 months. If he had just shut up and played, rebuilt his value to near its peak, and got to the offseason, he likely either would've gotten a new contract extension, or if the Colts went the franchise tag route, he would've been entirely justified doing all of this next preseason. As it stands now, he looks like the bad guy and doesn't have the ground to stand on to get his demands met.

Dam that was about as concise and clear a take on this situation I have seen.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dam8610 (Post 269890)

Frank Reich's usage of him in the passing game?

10 thoughts on Jonathan Taylor's contract standoff with the Colts, where it goes from here

Quote:

Ten thoughts on the Jonathan Taylor vs. the Colts soap opera that has become the dominant storyline of training camp:

1. This first week has been quite a year on the Colts beat. We'll get to those leaks and tweets from Sunday night in a moment, but I want to start with Saturday’s first night practice, where two 11-on-11 groups were running drills on the field and I spent it tracking a luxury bus parked outside the fences.

Fans have strong reasons to be excited about this Colts team, with Shane Steichen building a fascinating offensive system around a historic but unproven quarterback like Anthony Richardson.

But rolling back so much of last year's team meant inheriting at least some of its scars. And that's how this Jonathan Taylor contract situation is starting to feel.

2. Taylor met with owner Jim Irsay on a bus for close to an hour for something that wasn’t a contract negotiation and wasn’t really a trade talk but more of a clearing-the-air session. The two emerged, and as Irsay was holding his ground with us in the media, Taylor’s trade request was leaked to NFL Network.

That explained the frosty vibe we’d seen all week from the normally wide-smiling Taylor, with his hood up, arms crossed, face blank, engaging with few teammates. The contract he wanted wasn’t here, but the clock to start practicing and risking injury was.

Indianapolis Colts running back Jonathan Taylor (28) makes his way around the field Friday, July 28, 2023, during an indoor practice at Grand Park Sports Campus in Westfield, Indiana.
RELATED:Jim Irsay holds hour-long bus chat with Jonathan Taylor amid contract and trade requests

3. That mood was never about that ankle surgery in January.

ESPN’s Stephen Holder and Fox59’s Mike Chappell both reported Sunday night that Taylor arrived to camp on Tuesday complaining about a back injury he suffered while training away from the facility, in addition to the repaired ankle.

Taylor is refuting those reports, saying on Twitter he never reported an injury or pain in his back.

MORE: Jonathan Taylor refutes reports that he suffered back injury away from Colts

When it comes to PUP, the recovering ankle qualifies but realistically only for so long. The procedure he had done is called arthroscopic debridement, NFL Network reported. A source with knowledge of these types of procedures told me that it carries a 2-4-week recovery for football players. Even the toughest ankle injuries often take around three months to heal.

It’s been six months.

4. Back injuries are trickier to map out, of course, and we don't even know if this one happened.

If it did, and if it occurred away from the facility, then it could qualify him for the Non-Football Injury List.

That list does not entitle a player to his salary while he’s on it, though those payments don’t come until Week 1. If it were to extend into the regular season, the player must miss four games, which means nearly a quarter of his base salary. If it were to extend to six games, a player in a contract year like Taylor would then have that contract year moved to the next season.

Why was the possibility leaked instead of just making a move?

That’s what we call a threat.

And Taylor's denial only muddies these dirty waters.

It’s not a coincidence that these prickly measures come after that hour-long conversation on the bus. Words aren’t working anymore. They haven’t all offseason, as Taylor hasn’t received a single contract offer. And they certainly haven’t this week, as Irsay and Taylor’s agent, Malki Kawa, have exchanged Twitter shots about the state of the position and Taylor’s lack of an offer.

Indianapolis Colts running back Jonathan Taylor fell to 861 rushing yards last season while missing six games, one year after he won the NFL's rushing title with 1,811 yards.
5. This play also comes one day after Irsay told IndyStar and other outlets, “We will not trade Jonathan Taylor. That is a certainty. Not now, or not in October.”

Taylor went the trade route because it’s one of his final cards to play in a brutal landscape for running backs, even ones as talented as he is. It's not a strong one, because a team trading for him will have to give up enough draft compensation to convince the Colts to diminish their backfield support for Richardson while likely agreeing to the type of extension Taylor wants. With Dalvin Cook and Zeke Elliott available to sign for no draft picks and a lot less money, that’s not an enticing market.

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It becomes even less enticing if the player in question isn’t practicing due to an injury situation. Especially a running back. Especially in 2023.

6. There’s so much noise right now, but this much we know: Taylor and the Colts could not be further apart in their desires and expectations.

Taylor wants a multi-year deal, with security for possible injuries like the high-ankle sprain that caused him to miss six games last year, plus a pay rate that hits market value for his All-Pro and rushing title abilities, which based on current deals would be at least in the $12 million-16 million annual range.

The Colts want him to play this year out to see how he rebounds from the ankle before deciding on anything. They know they have the franchise tag in their hand as free agency approaches. That’s why they hold the aces here, and Taylor is left playing a 10.

Indianapolis Colts running back Jonathan Taylor (28) makes his way around the field Friday, July 28, 2023, during an indoor practice at Grand Park Sports Campus in Westfield, Indiana.
7. I've seen numerous fans ask why Taylor doesn't just play this season out and trust that it'll all work out, the way others have in a contract year. Life as a running back is just tenuous right now. The gold pot doesn't seem to be there at the end of the rainbow because of the franchise tag and a saturated free agent market.

But it's also about risk.

A quick story: In 2015, I was covering the Bears when they spent a fourth-round pick on Michigan State running back Jeremy Langford as a possible heir to Matt Forte. The next fall, with Forte gone, Langford suffered a high-ankle sprain much like Taylor did last season. But he rushed back from the injury, trying to gut it out for the opportunity while hoping it'd all work out like it seemed to in college. He reinjured the ankle, causing structural damage. And he averaged just 3.2 yards per carry that season.

The Bears stumbled into a 1,300-yard rookie running back in Jordan Howard that year, so they cut Langford, and suddenly he had an ankle that scared teams and mediocre film from the weeks of trying to play at a fraction of himself. He signed with four different teams to fight for low-end roster spots but suffered two hamstring and one pectoral injury, and he played just one more game after that 2016 season. These days, as a small-business owner, he regrets not taking more of a business approach of understanding his tape was his resume and his body was his only asset of any power.

Taylor is a much more accomplished and talented player, but that has yet to lead him closer to that pot of gold. He saw last year how hard it was to escape the scrums of giant bodies crowding his ankle behind this offensive line. If he could sniff that pot of gold, maybe he could have the faith to suit up and do it again. But the Colts are making it sound as fictitious as the ones in the fairy tales right now.

8. It’s interesting that the Colts haven’t used that leverage in the form of a lower-ball offer. It would give Taylor a panic move to make if he runs out of cards and grows uncomfortable with the negative spotlight every day at camp. That’s what the Giants used with Saquon Barkley, and he eventually came around to a one-year, $11 million deal that was only slightly above the franchise tag number due to incentives.

The Colts have said they are just letting all contracts play out with a new coaching staff right now, and that appears true, but the inaction invites Taylor to take the volatile route, which is what changing agents in late May and going to Twitter is. Asking Taylor to practice and play 17 more games of a brutal position behind the same starting five offensive linemen he got bottled up and hurt behind last year is obviously going to upset him, especially after he watched Quenton Nelson, Shaquille Leonard, Ryan Kelly, Braden Smith, Kenny Moore II and Nyheim Hines all receive a life raft from the same owner and general manager at this stage in their rookie contracts.

Those emotions are running white-hot now.

9. I had thought a possible compromise could be to schedule a contract meeting in, say, late September, once Taylor has healed up and shown his fit in Steichen’s RPO-heavy backfield with Richardson. If the two can meld their explosive upside into a dual threat to be feared, the Colts should be encouraged to lock that up since all that ultimately matters is raising Richardson’s floor and tapping his upside anyway.

The franchise tag is why they don’t have to, but the animosity has risen so high, you wonder whether promises can work again.

They tried the bus meeting once already. I'm not sure if it has any gas left.

10. It’s safe to say two sides could have handled this so much better. The sub-tweeting, the pouting, the threats and the demands can weigh heavy on any team that is kicking off a new season, but especially one with a rookie head coach and rookie quarterback. I don’t sense we’re close to a resolution, and for as long as that is true, the work of Steichen and Richardson and the energy they create is not going to light the momentum this franchise so desperately needed after last year's went up in flames.

Irsay and Taylor are two good men who have done tremendous acts in and away from the game of football. They’re also intense competitors in a win-now league and billion-dollar industry, staring each other down in the most bizarre time in history for a running back standoff.

Buckle in. We have turbulence now.

Quote:

Originally Posted by YDFL Commish (Post 269896)

Frank Reich's usage of him in the passing game?

I believe I’m the one that made the the comment Dam is referring to. Reich’s usage of him is certainly part of it. Whether we agree with it or not, Taylor hasn’t been used in that capacity like the players he wants to be paid like - CMC and Kamara. He’s asking for a long term salary in their range. Now he is arguably a better runner than either of those guys, but this is a passing league. Those receptions are deemed more valuable. Maybe Reich was dumb, but I can tell you my eyes say Taylor isn’t dynamic as a receiver (after the catch yes, as a route runner and actually catching no) and he’s still not good as a blocker. Improved but I’m not ready to put ARs health in his hands. My point was if he wants paid like those guys ($16k / yr) then he needs to show that ability. He’s not going to do it on PUP or holding out.

So Irsay says he takes care of his old players. Not one player has spoken up to say this isn't true. Name a player Irsay has screwed financially. He even gave Luck what, 26 million after he left. Taylor is an idiot for his stand.

Quote:

Originally Posted by rm1369 (Post 269797)

Sad. Doubt there is a market for what he wants. He and his agent believe he is an extremely valuable asset that deserves to be paid. There shouldn’t be an issue finding a trade partner that will make the Colts a good offer then. Let them go set up a trade. No less than a (expected) mid level 2nd. Otherwise I’d rather just hold him and let him rot.

This whole situation is bizarre. It seems so out of character for JT, he didn’t seem like a diva at all. No team is going to pay a RB 16 million a year, not JT, especially coming off an injury. I actually think the Colts would pay him 12 or 13 a year if he played out his contract and acted in good faith. I don’t know if he is acting on his agents advice or this is really him.

Just heard on the radio, agent basically has two "prime" time guys under contract. Shaq Leonard, and then some OL I can't even recall the name of and certainly was not someone that I said "oh yeah, he's solid".

Apparently it was between this guy and Rosenhaus and he chose this dude.

At one time Leonard was considered on par with the icons, Butkus, Singletary, Lewis, Willis. He was putting up numbers that were in some cases unheard of. He was rewarded with a $19M per year contract- which was warranted before he was injured. I am sure this guy is looking at that contract he negotiated with this same team and telling JT he can do the same for him, just trust him.

These situations aren't even close to one another:

He was injured before contract year, he had an underwhelming year, and there's no tape to show this ankle injury won't cause him to perform similarly this year to last. No on is paying RB's shit.

How can JT not see this for what it is?

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChoppedWood (Post 269928)

There is $$ involved, which can cause the most level headed individual, to run amok.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Oldcolt (Post 269926)

I think Taylor and other top RB's are kind of correct and I can empathize. I mean, who was the one superstar we had to let go? Edge, the RB. But at some point, you're just bitching that the sky is blue. You can't change it unless you change the game.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chromeburn (Post 269927)

I have a hard time believing this is not a Don King type of situation. JT is smart, but that would be some truly duplicitous behavior if he's just been fake the whole time.

100% his best route was to play out the contract in good faith.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChoppedWood (Post 269928)

It's beyond the point because we all seem to understand the reality of the RB position, but...

People even complain about Leonard getting paid at his position. And there is merit to it. But I agree with the signing because Leonard was so versatile and making game-altering impacts to games at a rate we haven't seen.

And it was four consecutive All-Pro level seasons (his full rookie deal honored, by the way). That's a far cry from JT who is a year early from honoring his contract and a year late trying to use '21 as leverage.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chromeburn (Post 269927)

Bizarre is a good way to put it.

But you wonder now whether the relationship can ever be fixed.

JT better hope it can because the Colts don’t have to do jack shit. They can literally send his ass home.

JT has no leverage.

fuck off dude. go earn your extension and understand the market you are in. be mad about it but you have to understand it

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chromeburn (Post 269927)

I was worried of this early on just because he was too perfect.

I totally think that players should get more money but this is a selfish move by JT. Players Association is the only way for it to work. And had he not been injured and repeated great numbers last year I could understand the situation much more worthy.

Quote:

Originally Posted by omahacolt (Post 269947)

JT has no leverage.

fuck off dude. go earn your extension and understand the market you are in. be mad about it but you have to understand it

No one seems to know exactly what JT is asking for. Or I haven’t seen it at least.

All I’ve seen is an anonymous source who said no team in the league, including the colts, will give him what he’s asking for.

I’d say he wants more than McCaffrey. And he’s nuts if that’s true.

If JT were to fire his agent and pad up, I'd take him back

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hoopsdoc (Post 269956)

They said that the agent was intimating that JT should get $20MM per. FO with that- aint happening. $16 is talking level with a settle at probably $14. If they really think $20, and that's what he is going to stand on, man is going to be needing to get a real job real soon to augment the few Mil he has earned to this point.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChoppedWood (Post 269958)

First of all, I agree. If he’s truly demanding 20mm or else, he can get the fuck out. I’d be more pissed at Jim and Ballard if they did that.

Holder thinks that Taylor and his agent believe that there is at least one team out there willing to give him what he wants and that’s why they’re playing hardball.

I find that impossible to believe. It might be a competitor of the Colts trying to create trouble for them but no one is actually going to trade for JT and then give him 20 million dollars a year. He’s FOS if he actually believes that.

Spat between Colts, Jonathan Taylor is the biggest, dumbest story of training camp

Quote:

WESTFIELD – Jonathan Taylor is looking in from the outside, and feel free to call that a metaphor. But it’s a literal statement, one of the only accepted truths about the most convoluted development in the NFL – the disconnect between the Colts and their best player on offense.

Taylor isn’t practicing because he’s on the Physically Unable to Perform list, heretofore referred to as the PUP list, like this is a cute story that has lovable characters. It isn’t, and doesn’t. Based on what we know right now – you’ll hear that phrase again soon, right now, and you’ll bolt to attention – there isn’t anybody to love in this story. Nobody is cute here. No puppies.

What’s that line from “For What It’s Worth,” Buffalo Springfield’s anti-establishment song in 1966? Ah yes, here it is:

“Nobody’s right if everybody’s wrong.”

Who’s right, in this standoff between Jonathan Taylor and Colts owner Jim Irsay? Nobody. Everybody’s wrong, and it’s possible more than one person is lying.

Only thing you can take to the bank is this: Taylor looks awfully alone right now.

Tens of thousands of Colts fans have been to camp at Grand Park, many of them wearing Taylor’s No. 28 jersey. I’m not telling you anything you’ve not seen already: Jonathan Taylor looking in from the outside, following the running backs around the field, standing behind them, peeking between their helmets or over their shoulders at the action on the field.

Taylor talks to nobody, and nobody talks to Taylor. For more than hour. Every day at camp.

And the people who are talking, well, they’re not making any sense.

Doyel:Jonathan Taylor joins Andrew Luck, Victor Oladipo as star athletes receiving bad advice

Facts are fungible, and someone's lying

Brief recap, for those new to the conversation:

Jonathan Taylor has been the Colts’ best offensive player for three years, and he’d like a contract extension before the fourth and final year of his rookie contract. The Colts tend to give such extensions to deserving players – Taylor is deserving – but this comes at an awkward time, with NFL teams concluding that running backs are replaceable. Add to that Taylor’s ankle surgery in January, the Colts’ uneven results even as he was running for a combined 2,672 yards and 22 touchdowns in 2021-22, and hints of an offseason injury Taylor suffered working out on his own.

Any extension talk is, shall we say, complicated.

And then it gets weird. Irsay goes on Twitter to lament the way NFL running backs are seeking special dispensation in contract negotiations, saying some agents are dealing in “bad faith.” Taylor’s new agent, better known for representing MMA fighters and professional wrestlers, fires back on Twitter again and again.

Then it gets really weird.

Someone from the Colts, and we all suspect the same person, leaks it Sunday night that Taylor injured his back during offseason workouts in Arizona, leaving the team to consider putting him on the Non-Football Injury list (NFI). That would allow the Colts to withhold his salary. That is a declaration of (negotiating) war.

Taylor fires back on Twitter, saying his back is and always has been fine.

Doyel: Colts RB Jonathan Taylor wants to be traded, but what he needs is a new agent

Insider: Taylor refutes reports that he suffered back injury away from Colts

This has become one of the biggest stories of NFL training camp, right up there with Broncos coach Sean Payton trashing former Denver coach Nathaniel Hackett. But the Payton story? That’s child’s play compared to this one. In Payton v. Hackett we know who said what. We know the truth. We can form an opinion and move on.

In Taylor v. Colts, we don’t know much. It’s like we’re in The Matrix, with one side describing the spoon in fine detail, and the other side saying, “There is no spoon.”

Facts are fungible here. I mean, either Taylor injured his back or he didn’t. More to the point, either he injured himself working out in Arizona … or not. Perhaps it’s not a back injury, but something else. Taylor said his back is not an issue. Is he hiding behind the real truth, which is another injury that the Colts “source” – and we all suspect who it is – bungled in the telling?

These are the questions you ask yourself, trying to make sense of things. Then you go to Colts coach Shane Steichen for help, and he does what he does.

He makes it worse.

Indianapolis Colts running back Jonathan Taylor (28) stands near other running backs during drills Monday, July 31, 2023, during training camp at the Grand Park Sports Campus in Westfield, Indiana.
Shane Steichen talks, makes it worse

Quotes taken out of context? Not here. This is exactly what I asked Steichen at camp Monday, with italics provided to clarify the speaker:

Shane, I’m telling him, calling him by name because we’re tight like that, “when you’ve had guys hurt – (Julius) Brents, (Will) Mallory – you say: He’s got an ankle, he’s got a hamstring.

“Yeah yeah yeah,” Shane says, hearing me loud and clear.

Well, what does Jonathan Taylor have?

“What’s that?” Shane says, all of sudden not hearing so well.

What does Taylor have?

“He’s just dealing with something right now,” Shane says, “and I’m going to refrain from getting into all that.”

See what I mean? Something’s up, but nobody will say what. We know Taylor’s ankle surgery in January was minor, that most players are fine within a month, that E.J. Speed had similar offseason surgery and has been on the field since camp started. What’s different about Taylor’s surgery?

See Shane shrug.

The Colts haven’t exactly distinguished themselves with transparency regarding injuries. We all remember Andrew Luck’s shoulder or calf or Os Trigonum, and Darius Leonard’s back or ankle or calf or something. Now they’re doing it again with Taylor.

They’re also doing it with quarterback Anthony Richardson, it should be said. The Colts announced Monday morning that Richardson had undergone a procedure “to correct his nasal septum” Sunday, nothing major, but it kept him out of practice Monday and could sideline him Tuesday as well, Steichen said. Which begs the question: Why now? Richardson was drafted April 27. Nobody knew about the septum issue for 2½ months?

Or did Richardson injure his septum during camp?

Reporter to Steichen: Is it pre-existing?

“Yeah,” said Steichen, who uses yeah as a verbal crutch, not an answer, “it’s something he had to get done in there. Yeah.”

Reporter: Any thoughts of doing it before camp?

“Yeah,” Steichen said, “no, just so he can breathe better. Didn’t want him to come in and not start camp, you know what we mean? So let’s let him get started in camp and do it on this (off) day.”

Sure, why perform this procedure in the 2½ months leading up to camp, giving your franchise QB plenty of time to recover? Much better to do it during camp, when the rookie franchise QB will miss a day or two.

Is that what we’re supposed to believe?

Do you see why it’s hard to trust the Colts with injury news?

Jonathan Taylor looks like an outcast

Here’s the most interesting thing Steichen said about Taylor, and again, we’re not taking this out of context. This is the context:

Reporter: Are you expecting J.T. to play this year?

Steichen: “Right now he’s on this football team. He’s on this football team, and when the medical staff clears him he should be out there.”

Right now…

Terrific.

Meanwhile, with Taylor declining to speak with reporters – players can and often do speak while on injured reserve or the PUP list, as Shaq Leonard has done – reserve RB Deon Jackson faced questions on Taylor’s behalf. Jackson verbally stood by Taylor, calling him “one of my closest friends” and saying of the locker room: “We’re all supportive of him. We’re all rallying around him.”

And maybe they are, behind closed doors. Reporters aren’t allowed into the locker room, so believe Jackson if you’d like.

In public, where Jonathan Taylor’s spat with the Colts is unfolding like a soiled pair of pants, teammates are ignoring him. Nobody talks to Taylor. He talks to nobody. And when practice ended Monday, as some players stayed on the field for extra work and others trotted to the bleachers to sign autographs, Taylor walked off the field by himself, toward the tunnel leading to the locker room, where his teammates are “all supportive of him.”

Maybe so. All I can tell you is what I see, which is Jonathan Taylor walking into the tunnel alone, heading into the shade, into the darkness.

He is going, he is going, he is…

Doyle is so full of shit, he is enjoying every moment

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChaosTheory (Post 269801)

This was starting to remind me of the Le'Veon Bell situation. Is it actually going to become that? From Taylor of all guys?

I never saw this coming from him. He was one of the most likeable guys on the team. I wonder why he changed?

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Originally Posted by Racehorse (Post 269975)

I never saw this coming from him. He was one of the most likeable guys on the team. I wonder why he changed?

Gotta presume it is the influence of the agent.

Same shit with Emmit Smith back in the day. He was regarded as one of the coolest easiest to get along with guys in the world, loved by the locker room, media, front office, smart and unquestioned work ethic- and then BOOM... HEEL TURN FROM HELL based on $$$.

In that case, they got through it and he went on to do great things for them. One can only hope the same reversal happens here- though the shit being thrown around with the threats to put him on NFI thus taking away his income entirely... yikes, hard to see that landing with all wheels down.

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Originally Posted by omahacolt (Post 269947)

JT has no leverage.

fuck off dude. go earn your extension and understand the market you are in. be mad about it but you have to understand it

Fuck him. Let him sit on his ass in the locker room all season for all I care. Just another dumb-ass that can't handle fortune and fame.

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Originally Posted by JAFF (Post 269970)

Doyle is so full of shit, he is enjoying every moment

Doyle is the one making it worse….not Shane Steichen! I didn’t see any thing wrong with coach’s responses.

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Originally Posted by Racehorse (Post 269975)

I never saw this coming from him. He was one of the most likeable guys on the team. I wonder why he changed?

Again.. He was TOO perfect

Quote:

Originally Posted by Racehorse (Post 269975)

I never saw this coming from him. He was one of the most likeable guys on the team. I wonder why he changed?

You know what the fuck it was… he got married

Time for this billionaire and millionaire to put their egos aside and make a deal. They need each other, we need JT happy and this is over what, 2-3 million bucks? Get him a guaranteed 30 million over the next 3 years and be done with it. Start talking to each other, both of you assholes.

So apparently Taylor can either retire, sit out and not get paid...and possibly be fined lots of money, or be put on the NFI list and not be paid and not have this year count against his remaining contract years. So I assume he'll play and be a malcontent all season. My question is: how can we fans be expected to cheer for this guy? We want to win and for the team to do well. I'm sure I'll cheer if he breaks off some breakaway TD runs. But this puts fans in a weird predicament. Why can't this team ever have a normal, boring, run up to the season? It's tiring anymore to be honest.

Or they could act like adults, get together and find a way out of this. This relationship isn't irreparable as long as they both need each other. There is time for this to cool off and someone to broker a peace between these two rich pricks.

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Originally Posted by Oldcolt (Post 270004)

Hahaha...I wish it was that easy. A billionaire got slighted I love Jim

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Originally Posted by Oldcolt (Post 270013)

If this thinking is right that he is carrying the water for the RB's as a collective, then he in essence is the union rep and he can't fold and if so, f-k him for being that naive.