Jonathan Taylor has always been a good NFL running back. On occasion, he's emerged as the best back in the league.
2025 was one such season, even if his argument ran out of steam as the wheels fell off for a team that quickly rose to the top of the AFC, then plummeted back down the ranks. Taylor was on pace for 1,936 rushing yards and 25 touchdowns at 6.0 yards per attempt in the Indianapolis Colts' 8-2 start. That dropped to 1,083, seven and 3.3 yards per handoff over the final seven games of the year as his quarterback flipped from an injured Daniel Jones to Riley Leonard and a 44-year-old Philip Rivers. The Colts lost all those games, but general manager Chris Ballard is undeterred.
He's spent the 2026 offseason effectively running it back -- retaining key players like Jones and wide receiver Alec Pierce while making modest additions elsewhere. Now, that includes Taylor. On Thursday, he signed a two-deal contract extension with a base value of $44 million, a maximum value of $47 million and a massive $39 million guarantee.
With Ballard's seat hotter than ever, this could be the last extension he gives out in Indianapolis. Will he regret it? Let's break down why it might, or might not, work.
Taylor wasn't a hold-in like Bijan Robinson or Jahmyr Gibbs, but he was in the final year of a three-year, $42 million extension with the Colts -- one that had no guaranteed money left for 2026. While the 27-year-old didn't reset the tailback market, he still landed firmly in its upper crust. His $22 million annual average salary trails only Robinson's $22,250,000 (and, in short time, will also trail the $22.3 million or so Gibbs signs for in Detroit).
#year #back
2025 was one such season, even if his argument ran out of steam as the wheels fell off for a team that quickly rose to the top of the AFC, then plummeted back down the ranks. Taylor was on pace for 1,936 rushing yards and 25 touchdowns at 6.0 yards per attempt in the Indianapolis Colts' 8-2 start. That dropped to 1,083, seven and 3.3 yards per handoff over the final seven games of the year as his quarterback flipped from an injured Daniel Jones to Riley Leonard and a 44-year-old Philip Rivers. The Colts lost all those games, but general manager Chris Ballard is undeterred.
He's spent the 2026 offseason effectively running it back -- retaining key players like Jones and wide receiver Alec Pierce while making modest additions elsewhere. Now, that includes Taylor. On Thursday, he signed a two-deal contract extension with a base value of $44 million, a maximum value of $47 million and a massive $39 million guarantee.
With Ballard's seat hotter than ever, this could be the last extension he gives out in Indianapolis. Will he regret it? Let's break down why it might, or might not, work.
Taylor wasn't a hold-in like Bijan Robinson or Jahmyr Gibbs, but he was in the final year of a three-year, $42 million extension with the Colts -- one that had no guaranteed money left for 2026. While the 27-year-old didn't reset the tailback market, he still landed firmly in its upper crust. His $22 million annual average salary trails only Robinson's $22,250,000 (and, in short time, will also trail the $22.3 million or so Gibbs signs for in Detroit).
#year #back
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