The NFL injury report does not require teams to disclose that a player will be healthy. The world finds out if a player otherwise capable of playing won’t play about 90 minutes before kickoff, when the team provides its list of inactive players.
For the Colts, a decision will be made later this morning. Will running back Jonathan Taylor play in Jacksonville as they continue to engage in talks to trade him? (The Giants are definitely gunning for him, and others probably are too.)
By all indications, Taylor will play. But if the phone rings before 11:30 a.m. ET and the Colts receive an offer they choose not to refuse, the plan could quickly change. (And since the Giants don’t have a game this weekend, they can focus their efforts exclusively on trying to make that happen, even if it requires a call from coach John Harbaugh to owner Carlie Irsay-Gordon.)
Three weeks ago, the Cardinals knew Friday that they would trade wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. after Sunday’s game. Harrison did not play. It’s possible that one of the teams interested in Taylor will put the right terms on the table to persuade the Colts to put Taylor in bubble wrap for Sunday pending a postgame announcement that Taylor will change teams.
Without a deal imminent, the Colts will be taking a calculated risk if Taylor is active. If he gets hurt, the trade market will evaporate.
As was the case Friday for Commanders and defensive tackle Daron Payne. There there were commercial negotiations regarding Payne, until he suffered a season-ending foot injury in training.
So even though the trade deadline doesn’t arrive until November 10, there are various other deadlines that could determine a trade decision. For the Colts, the most immediate deadline comes very soon, when they must decide whether to let Taylor play and risk an injury that would necessarily close the door to a potential trade.
Gn sports
