Joe Thomas weighs in on NFL running backs feeling undervalued: “I feel empathetic for them”
Saquon Barkley’s recent holdout put running back valuation in the spotlight. We talked to Hall of Famer Joe Thomas about why this position has a lower salary than so many others players.
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The back-and-forth between Jonathan Taylor and the Indianapolis Colts has culminated with Taylor requesting a trade from the franchise, a person with direct knowledge of the request told USA TODAY Sports on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.
Taylor, the 24-year-old 2021 rushing champion, made the request after meeting Saturday with Colts owner Jim Irsay, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported.
Frustration has seemingly been mounting for Taylor, who is seeking a new deal as he enters the final year of his rookie contract.
Amid the ongoing conversation about running back pay, Irsay took to X, formerly known as Twitter, earlier this week to share his thoughts.
“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’..” Irsay wrote in a tweet.
That caught the attention of Taylor’s agent, Malki Kawa of First Round Management. Kawa hit back at Irsay, writing: “Bad faith is not paying your top offensive player.”
Irsay told ESPN he was not targeting Taylor specifically with his comments, but in the same interview he strongly indicated the Colts would not be giving Taylor a new deal before the season. “We haven’t exchanged any contract numbers with each other or anything like that,” Irsay told ESPN.
“Our hope is Jonathan has an outstanding year and that we have a good year as a team and then we get his next contract done,” he added.
Kawa, though, said he doubted Taylor’s relationship with the Colts could be salvaged.
Which brings us to Saturday’s request.
Irsay insisted Saturday that the Colts would not be moving Taylor.
“We will not trade Jonathan Taylor,” Irsay said in an audio file sent to The Indianapolis Star, part of the USA TODAY Network. “That is a certainty. Not now, or not in October.”
Taylor, a second-round pick in 2020, rushed for 2,980 yards and 29 touchdowns his first two seasons, including a 2021 campaign that saw him earn All-Pro honors while leading the league in rushing (1,811 yards) and rushing touchdowns (18). An ankle injury limited Taylor to 11 games in 2022. He finished last season with 861 yards.
