As the NFL globe prepares for Week 2, few storylines are more interesting than the continuous standoff in between the Indianapolis Colts and star running back Jonathan Taylor. By setting a deadline to determine a reasonable profession by cut day, the Colts told Taylor and his depiction that they had no rate of interest in attracting out the dispute once the period began. Chris Ballard tried to speak with Taylor and his camp in his season-opening interview, extending an olive branch and indicating that the team intends to restore the connection. At this factor, it shows up that neither side is flinching. The group is clearly doing its finest to stay clear of the media circus and to mitigate any type of damage the Taylor scenario could create to the team in the locker room or as an interruption while the team is concentrated on installing a tactical plan for a road tilt versus the Houston Texans. No issue, the subject is as well succulent, and there isn't adequate to get delighted about at this stage in the period to move the subject under the rug. ESPN's Jeremy Fowler supplied the following nugget on Wednesday: With several injuries at running back, the Colts are still keeping track of the market. They've been in touch with complimentary representatives Kareem Hunt and Leonard Fournette. That's a position to watch in Indy as the Colts cycle via options. Of program, this contributes to the information that Darrell Henderson exercised with the team on Tuesday. We have actually covered this story from regarding every angle at Stampede Blue. We have noted that one of the most substantial concerns in the negotiations focus on drawbacks in the existing NFL Collective Negotiating Arrangement - specifically, the novice wage range and its disparate influence on running backs. We have actually also noted that, like it or not, Jonathan Taylor has really little leverage right here. As a matter of fact, his capacity to hold up ends the moment he acknowledges that he is healthy and balanced enough to return from the physically not able to carry out listing. This hasn't quit the conventional media from running away with the tale. Wild complaints have been tossed out at owner Jim Irsay. To make issues worse, followers are irritated with the holdout, know exactly how much the team would certainly be much better off with Taylor healthy and balanced and having fun, and now they are likewise turning their blame to ownership or monitoring Colts Store. The media story is working. Right here's what we recognize. In the last year of his novice contract, Jonathan Taylor is apparently upset due to the fact that he doesn't have an expansion. A list of players from the 2020 Draft Course who the Colts have not expanded: Michael Pittman Jr. , Jonathan Taylor, Julian Blackmon, Danny PinterThis is the whole of the 2020 Colts Draft Class that is still on the roster. Michael Pittman Jr. played in 16 video games in 2015 and led the group in every group that gains players expansions. He was drafted ahead of Taylor. Last weekend, he took the field and led his group in functions and obtaining yards and was the only offensive gamer not named Richardson to score. Taylor played in 11 video games in 2022. He endured 2 ankle joint injuries, one that finished his period and needed off-season surgical procedure. Behind an offending line that had visibly regressed, he had the most awful analytical season of his job. Does this mean that Taylor does not should have a contract or that he is most likely not fully recouped from his ankle joint? No. Yet he refused to see group doctors, taken part in a public battle with the group owner with his representative, noticeably pouted on the sidelines during training camp, and demanded a trade. I posture a question for those that have decided at fault Irsay or others in the front office. What do the Colts gain from shedding bridges with Taylor? He is extremely skilled. It's clear to everybody that having a robust hurrying strike is a staple in the SteichenEagles system. It's clear to everyone that having a skill like Taylor in the backfield with novice Anthony Richardson can just serve to take pressure off of him in his newbie season. So, why would certainly the team endanger it? What is the angle?We will certainly never know the whole tale. True. However we understand running backs are getting a raw offer under the existing CBA. We understand that running backs are vocally allowing the league understand exactly how they feel concerning it. We recognize that Taylor went from "Colts for life" to rejecting even to see group medical professionals in just a few weeks - throughout which this entire running back dramatization train pulled away from the station. We know he worked with an agent that went fire and brimstone versus the team owner. Do we understand his contract needs? Do we understand what it would certainly take or would have needed for him not to turn up sulking at training camp? No. But I've usually been informed that if it looks like a duck and phonies like a duck, it's possibly a duck. Irsay likes his players - specifically his most popular abilities. His document in the location is reputable. Ballard pays native players. He has done so frequently. And yet, we have members of the media and a fan base persuaded that these are individuals to blame. These are weird times. I can not wait up until the whole mess is over.