The Indianapolis Colts became the focus of deadline-day calls on Jonathan Taylor and Daniel Jones on Tuesday, with the 4 p.m. ET NFL trade deadline looming. Teams were expected to keep checking on both players throughout the day, and the question was whether Indianapolis would actually move either one before the clock ran out.
That urgency grew because Daniel Jones is not just a name on the market. He has started nine games for the Colts this season, thrown 10 interceptions and six touchdowns, and the team reportedly told him he would not be traded. That leaves him in a strange place: a player drawing attention from other clubs while his own team is said to be shutting the door.
Adam Schefter said clubs were “waiting for this day” and described the Colts as “rather standoffish” in trade discussions about both players. In other words, the calls were real, but the leverage stayed with Indianapolis. The Colts had also been the center of league trade attention around Jonathan Taylor, with Schefter and Ian Rapoport reporting on Saturday that the team had an offer of a second-round draft pick plus additional compensation for the running back.
That still did not make a deal look close. Indianapolis had been seeking at least a second-round draft pick for Taylor, and there was no indication then that an agreement was near. The Minnesota Vikings, New York Giants and Denver Broncos had been the clubs most frequently tied to him, while Jones had his own appeal because he knew Minnesota's offense after finishing the 2024 season there.
The timing matters because the Colts entered deadline day at 2-7 and had lost five straight games, with 14 losses in their last 16 dating back to last season. Interim general manager Ed Dodds had already moved on from Quenton Nelson and DeForest Buckner and now had 10 picks in the upcoming draft, though not a first-rounder after last year's trade to the New York Jets in the Sauce Gardner deal. If Indianapolis keeps its stance on Jones and asks too much for Taylor, Tuesday may end with noise but no move.
