“It’s on the table,” said a source without going any further. Taylor won’t come cheap because other teams are interested and the Colts don’t need to make a deal.
According to Tom Pelissero’s SubstackThe Sweep, the Colts have already rejected an offer of a second-round pick plus an additional draft pick.
“The Colts haven’t told the other teams Exactly what they want for Taylor,” Pelissero wrote, “but it makes sense that they would want something close to the deal the Panthers got when they traded Christian McCaffrey to San Francisco in 2022 in exchange for 2023 second, third and fourth-round picks plus a 2024 fifth-rounder.”
Josh Jacobs’ return to the lineup seemed to throw cold water on any interest in acquiring a running back. However, WGBA-TV channel 26 in Green Bay achieved records of the Hobart-Lawrence Police Department in its investigation into the May incident that led to Jacobs’ no-contest plea to misdemeanor battery and criminal damage to property. These records show additional allegations before he joined the Packers in 2024.
Benefits of Trading for Jonathan Taylor
The Packers would have a younger player (Taylor will be 28 in January and Jacobs 29 in February), a player with less wear and tear (257 fewer touches), a more explosive player (4.8 yards per carry for his career compared to 4.2 for Jacobs) and a player under contract until 2028 (compared to 2027 for Jacobs).
Jacobs is one of the best running backs in the NFL. Taylor is one of the best.
Taylor has 1,431 yards in 2024, 1,585 yards in 2025 and is on pace for 1,426 yards in 2026. His 4.2 yard average this season is the lowest of his career; he averaged 4.9 yards per carry last season.
Taylor has home run speed. Since the start of the 2025 season, only Derrick Henry and Bijan Robinson have more 20-yard carries than Taylor. Only Henry has more 20-yard touchdowns. His big play ability would work with Green Bay’s offense.
Like Jacobs, Taylor is a skilled receiver. He caught 46 passes last season, when he scored a league-high 20 touchdowns.
He has 17 fumbles on 1,691 career carries. Jacobs has 17 fumbles on 1,872 career carries. From that perspective, both players are reliable running backs.
Disadvantages of trading for Jonathan Taylor
As was demonstrated with the return of Jacobs, the problem with the Packers running game is that it’s the guys who block and not the guys who run.
Green Bay is on pace to finish with the worst rushing average in NFL history. The rushing attack is as bad with Jacobs as it is without him.
On Thursday against Carolina, who entered the game with the worst rushing defense in the NFL, the Packers had 66 rushing yards for an average of 2.5. Jacobs carried the ball 21 times with a long gain of a pitiful 6 yards. Half of the team’s 26 rushing attempts gained 1 yard or less.
So, would Taylor actually solve the team’s problems? Or would the team’s limited capital to make a trade be better spent on a high-quality run-blocking lineman?
Speaking of draft capital, the Packers don’t have a 2027 first-round pick following the Micah Parsons trade. They have a second-round pick and will have several mid-round selections with the compensatory picks coming after losing Malik Willis, Romeo Doubs and Quay Walker in free agency.
Still, for a team with holes on the roster, not having a first or second round pick to provide young, inexpensive talent would be a challenge.
Financial impact of trading for Jonathan Taylor
Taylor is under contract through the 2028 season, so the Packers would have him for two and a half seasons.
If Taylor is traded, the acquiring team would inherit his two-year, $44 million contract, but the $15 million signing bonus would remain on the Colts’ ledger for cap purposes.
Taylor has a base salary of $6.98 million for this season; the acquiring team would only have to pay the prorated portion of what is left. Taylor has a base salary of $15 million in 2027, which would be guaranteed if he was on the roster after the Super Bowl, and $9.46 million (with a $7.5 million bonus) in 2028.
Taylor would be another expensive player on a roster full of expensive players. However, the Packers could move on from Jacobs, who has a base salary of $12.2 million for the 2027 season, to primarily fund Taylor’s contract.
Latest revelations about Josh Jacobs could impact potential trade
According to records, three other women came forward with similar allegations. One of them spoke to Hobart-Lawrence police about an alleged incident that occurred in January 2022, when Jacobs was with the Raiders.
From the lengthy WGBA article: “According to the records, the woman claimed that Jacobs slapped her in the face and then took her cell phone as she attempted to leave her residence. The woman told investigators that Jacobs grabbed her by the hair, threw her onto a bed, tackled her to the ground and then threw her to the ground. The woman also alleged that Jacobs spat on her and grabbed her by the throat.”
The Packers and the NFL have conducted their own investigations; it is unclear whether they were authorized to view those records and whether they were aware of the past allegations when the league activated Jacobs and the Packers put him on the roster. And if they were aware of them, did they consider them not credible?
A source recently said that although the NFL listed its investigation as ongoing after removing Jacobs from the exempt list, the matter was closed unless and until it had access to video of the incident involving Jacobs. The release of the video was blocked by the victim and Jacobs.
The league was always expected to suspend Jacobs. The question was whether it would be a six-game suspension, with Jacobs’ time on the exempt list covering the punishment, or whether he would be suspended for additional games.
The league said Saturday it would “look into these allegations.”
Jacobs’ legal team offered its response Saturday: “The Brown County Prosecutor’s Office had these uncorroborated, old, and unreported allegations for months. They conducted their own thorough investigation, in conjunction with the police department, and the prosecutor determined that only two misdemeanor charges were warranted. They then entered into a plea agreement with Josh Jacobs. Josh has repeatedly expressed his remorse and is honoring the terms of the agreement.”
Jacobs played in the last two games.
“I’m excited to be back with the team, with the guys,” he said after his first practice on Oct. 21. “I want to thank the organization for really supporting me through this process and how everything came together.
“That being said, I can’t go into a lot of things, like the specifics of things, but, obviously, I’m remorseful and I’m sorry for putting this team in this situation. Sometimes when you go through life, situations happen and a 4 or 3 second decision can change your life, honestly. But that being said, you’re still a human being, a man, who’s always trying to learn, who’s always trying to grow from the whole process.”
His touchdown celebration after his first touchdown against Carolina went viral; Jacobs said that The broadcast on Prime Video did not show “the whole celebration.”
At the unofficial halfway point of the season, @JacobWestendorf has his list of ups and downs for the Packers. ⬇️https://t.co/zFbeojdz2n
— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) October 31, 2026
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