Should the Bears trade for Colts RB Jonathan Taylor?

Indianapolis Colts running back Jonathan Taylor has requested a trade this week after Colts owner Jim Irsay refused to entertain negotiations for a new contract for the talented fourth-year running back.

Taylor, 24, was a second-round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft and has emerged as one of the league’s top running backs over the last three seasons. He was remarkable in 2021 when he finished the year with a league-best 1,811 yards and 18 rushing touchdowns.

Sources: #Colts star RB Jonathan Taylor has formally requested a trade after meeting with owner Jim Irsay. pic.twitter.com/BH7dhZAzUD

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) July 30, 2023

Injuries limited Taylor to 11 games in 2022. He ended the season with 192 carries, 861 yards and four touchdowns. His 4.5 yards per carry was the lowest of his career.

Still, there’s no denying Taylor is a dynamic bell-cow running back who can play all three downs, something the Chicago Bears don’t have. At least, that’s the perception of the roster right now.

Bears’ stable of RBs is an imperfect bunch

Khalil Herbert has a chance to be the Bears’ RB1 if he improves In pass protection. He averaged a league-best 5.7 yards per carry in 2022 and can emerge as an Aaron Jones-like player for Luke Getsy this year if his third-down skill set improves.

D’Onta Foreman was a force for the Carolina Panthers after Christian McCaffrey was traded to the San Francisco 49ers. He ran for 914 yards and five touchdowns and averaged the same yards per carry as Taylor last year.

Rookie Roschon Johnson was selected in the fourth round of the 2023 NFL Draft and profiles as a nice blend of Herbert and Foreman’s skill sets. He’s more physical than Herbert and is a better third-down back than Foreman. He has a chance to be a force in the second half of the season if he lives up to his post-draft hype.

Still, having a chance to secure Taylor for a non-first-round pick could be an opportunity the Chicago Bears have to consider. Sure, he’s on an expiring contract, and with wide receivers Darnell Mooney and Chase Claypool, and cornerback Jaylon Johnson all up for new deals too, it’d be tough imagining a scenario where Taylor fits in.

Jonathan Taylor’s next contract could prevent a trade to Bears

Running back valuation, or the lack thereof, has been a primary talking point of the offseason after New York Giants star Saquon Barkley couldn’t secure a long-term deal. He’ll play 2023 on the franchise tag. Last year’s leading rusher, Josh Jacobs, is in the middle of a contract dispute with the Las Vegas Raiders, who also slapped him with the franchise player designation.

Taylor is on a collision course to be the next high-profile running back whose contract demands don’t match the NFL’s current market. If the Bears decided to trade for him, they’d have to do so with a new contract ready for the former Wisconsin Badger.

Bears General Manager Ryan Poles let David Montgomery leave in free agency rather than match or exceed the $6 million per season the Detroit Lions are paying him. Instead, the Bears will roll with two running backs on rookie contracts and Foreman, who’s making just $2 million this season.

Jonathan Taylor’s elite skill set should keep Chicago Bears interested

Would a player with Taylor’s elite skill set change Poles’ position on running back value? There’s probably a better-than-zero chance he could, but Poles has shown in just two years on the job that he won’t budge from what he believes.

When Poles traded Roquan Smith because of contract issues last season, it seemed clear that he preferred discount talents at undervalued positions. But his decision to sign Tremaine Edmunds to a bank-busting contract in free agency showed Poles’ decisions are motivated more by talent and scheme fit than perceived positional value. Perhaps Taylor is to running backs what Edmunds is to linebackers.

I expect the Chicago Bears will keep an eye on the Jonathan Taylor situation while evaluating their own stable of running backs. If Herbert, Foreman and Johnson struggle during training camp and the preseason, don’t rule out Poles testing the trade waters for the All-Pro runner.