Indianapolis Colts running back Jonathan Taylor wants to remain a Colt for life. Taylor was drafted by the Colts in 2020. He signed a 3-year, $42 million extension with the team in 2023.
Now in the final year of that deal, Taylor made it clear that his primary concern is preparing for the upcoming season.
“I'd definitely love to be a Colt for life. I’ve already expressed that to them throughout the years. Just from college, coming here, you grow up in college a little bit to a young man, and then now, growing into like an adult, this is like a third home of mine,” he said during a June 10 press conference.
“So I’ve definitely expressed that, and hopefully they feel the same, because this is a special place. Not every building is like this, and I’ve heard some stories now, especially from guys coming from other places, and it’s not like this everywhere.”
Taylor’s $42 million extension is currently eighth in the NFL in total value and seventh in average salary among running backs. Spotrac sets his market value at $15.7 million per year, which would bump him up to fourth.
Taylor was asked if the Colts and his agents have made any progress toward a deal.
“Hopefully so,” he responded. “But at this time, we are in mini-camp trying to work on getting better, obviously still preparing with the body, got to hit the training hard. Like I said, I’ve already expressed I want to be a Colt for life, I think even throughout the year. So hopefully they feel the same. Like I said, Indianapolis, not only the team, but the city is a special place.”
One of the ways Taylor is preparing for the season is by re-evaluating how opposing defenses attack the Colts’ run game.
In the first 10 weeks of the 2025 season, Taylor racked up 1,139 yards on the ground—including 165 yards in Week 2 against the Denver Broncos, 153 yards and 2 touchdowns against the Tennessee Titans in Week 8, and 244 yards and 3 TDs against the Atlanta Falcons in Week 10—and was an early frontrunner for the Offensive Player of the Year award.
After the Colts’ bye week and the loss of quarterback Daniel Jones to an Achilles tear, defenses began to hone in on Taylor; he never broke the 100-yard mark in a game. Still, he finished the season with 323 carries for 1,585 yards and 18 TDs and 46 receptions for 378 yards and 2 scores.
“Number one, obviously there [were] other external factors that we can all talk about. But just internally, the things we can control, it then becomes a game of chess,” he said.
“How can we know how defenses are going to attack us, knowing where we may be limited in some areas, but still being able to overcome that, maybe take advantage of it and say, ‘hey, if I was a defense, what would I do?’ Okay, well, let’s exploit that now, because we kind of have a better idea of how they may try to exploit us. And winning those one-on-one matchups. So, I just think down the stretch, with all the external factors, it’s just playing that chess match and knowing how do we expect to be attacked and how can we kind of use that to our advantage, in a sense.”
Taylor’s 323 carries led the NFL last season, so he is also putting a lot of work into his body and his recovery regimen.
“I don’t think people understand, sometimes it could be a week, two weeks after the season, your nervous system, things are still like, I don’t want to say tight, but just your nervous system still thinks you’re in that mode. We’ve been doing it for 20-plus weeks. So being able to decompress that nervous system, and then being able to build your body up from the ground up from the feet, knees, and hips, all the way up to even to the top of your head,” he said.
“But then after that, a mental aspect is watching the film. What are things that I did well? What are things that I did not do well, and how can I improve and elevate guys around me? I think, especially when you get some of the veteran guys, it’s not only about you executing at a high level, but it’s also elevating the level of play of everyone around you and how [you can] help do that.”
