Colts' Jonathan Taylor gets $21 million contract update compared to Saquon Barkley

Jonathan Taylor's payday is coming.

It'll be a pivotal one for the Indianapolis Colts to decide on, because teams often don't pay running backs the big contract these days. But if anyone will deserve it, it's Taylor.

NFL.com's Anthony Holzman-Escareno wrote recently that Taylor is the most likely RB to secure a giant extension in the near future.

He compares Taylor to the $21 million record-setting annual average value currently held by Eagles superstar Saquon Barkley.

"In 2021, Taylor became the youngest player in the Super Bowl era to win the rushing triple crown, leading the NFL with 332 carries, 1,811 rush yards and 18 rush touchdowns at 22 years old," Holzman Escareno writes. "He missed six games with multiple ankle injuries in 2022, his third pro season, but that did not stop the Colts from signing the former All-Pro to a three-year, $42 million extension, even as his ankle kept him on the PUP list to begin the year. Unfortunately, he then missed three more games with a thumb injury in 2023 -- but any questions that were raised about his productivity were answered in 2024.

"Although a high ankle sprain did knock him out for three games, Taylor finished last season on an absolute heater, totaling a league-leading 627 rush yards and six touchdowns in Indy's final four games. The only concern with Taylor has been health. On the field, he's averaged 100-plus rushing yards per game in two of his first five NFL seasons. The only players to do that more times to start their careers? Hall of Famers Jim Brown and Eric Dickerson."

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That's pretty impressive company to keep.

The Colts aren't yet shelling out huge money at the QB position, given that Anthony Richardson is on a rookie contract and Daniel Jones is on a journeyman-type deal.

They'll still have to solve quarterback eventually, but there may be another draft pick involved, resulting in another relatively cheap rookie contract that allows for more money to be given out to other spots.

"As a second-round pick, Taylor avoided the fifth-year option and signed three-year extension at just 24 years old prior to 2023," Holzman-Escareno wrote. "This puts him in line to be an unrestricted free agent at 28 in 2027. With the cupboard bare of running backs who are poised to legitimately challenge Saquon Barkley for the All-Paid crown, Taylor is shunted to the top of the list."

If the Colts decide not to pay Taylor, there'll almost certainly be a line of teams who want him.

If the price to acquire him is that Barkley number, then it'll be simple: Pay Taylor, and you get one of the best RBs in the NFL. It sounds simple, even though at this particular position in this particular era of the league, it isn't simple at all.

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