The Colts Should Trade Jonathan Taylor, and Carlie Irsay-Gordon Signed Off on a Necessary Rebuild
IndyStar Colts reporter Joel A. Erickson joined The Ride with JMV on Football Friday from an unusual spot: downtown Milwaukee, right after the parade for the World Series champion Brewers. Erickson, a lifelong Brewers fan, admitted he has “cried multiple times” since the title. Then he turned to a Colts team that is headed in the other direction.
‘Somebody Will Meet Whatever Asking Price the Colts Have Set’
Asked whether Jonathan Taylor will be moved before the trade deadline, Erickson didn’t hesitate. “Yes, I do,” he said. He pointed to the Colts dealing Quenton Nelson and DeForest Buckner, along with Tennessee moving Jeffery Simmons, as signs this will be an aggressive deadline. “Teams are going to be risky,” he said. “They’re going to take shots.”
His reasoning is about the calendar. Without a 2027 first-round pick, Erickson said, 2028 is the earliest the Colts can realistically draft their next quarterback, which would leave Taylor near the end of his deal by the time the rebuild takes shape. “He’s a guy who should be on a contender,” Erickson said. “He is a finishing piece for someone.” As for the return, he pointed to the Christian McCaffrey trade, a package of second-, third- and fourth-round picks plus a future fifth, as the right comparison.
Irsay-Gordon’s Call, and Steichen’s Future
Erickson said he doesn’t know whether Carlie Irsay-Gordon sought outside advice, noting “her circle seems pretty close.” But he said the trades had to have her approval. “I’m not entirely sure that this is a move and a decision that Jim Irsay would have made,” he said. “She made the decision that I think we all recognize now is necessary.”
On head coach Shane Steichen, Erickson said it is “unrealistic to think that a new general manager isn’t going to want his own guy,” though he wondered whether memories of the 2022 coaching upheaval might push ownership toward stability. His biggest mark against Steichen: the failure to develop Anthony Richardson.