The Philadelphia Eagles never met a potential improvement they didn’t like, so could a trade for Indianapolis Colts running back Jonathan Taylor be in the offing?
Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio says they shouldn’t be counted out.
When you look at their collection of running backs, there isn’t a name that jumps off the page,” Florio said Tuesday. … “They don’t bat an eye about making a bad trade. They see an opportunity to make their team better. … The Eagles are the one team that I would watch.”
Taylor is in the midst of a contract standoff with the Colts, who have given him until Tuesday to find a trade partner because he now wants out. According to ESPN, six teams have checked in and two, including the Miami Dolphins, have engaged in offers.
Florioacknowledged the Eagles could’ve just kept Miles Sanders, who signed with the Carolina Panthers, and they traded picks for D’Andre Swift from the Detroit Lions this offseason — and “maybe they’re kicking themselves now,” he said.
But he traced their boldness back to the Nnamdi Asomugha signing in 2011 post-lockout when they came out of nowhere to add him. And he asked if anyone thought they’d swoop in to trade for wide receiver AJ Brown at the draft in 2022, sending the 18th and 101st overall picks and then signing him to a four-year, $100 million deal with $57 million guaranteed. They also traded a fourth-round pick last year for edge rusher Robert Quinn.
“I just feel like the Eagles are always on the fringes, thinking of every angle and every way that they can show the rest of us how they’ve figured out this system and they can pull off, whatever they want to pull off,” Florio said.
While PFT co-host Chris Simms agreed that the Eagles’ RB group — Swift, Kenneth Gainwell, Rashaad Penny, Boston Scott — is not a strength, he didn’t think it was going to happen.
Still, Florio made the point that maybe Taylor would take less money to play for a contender, and one with a path to the Super Bowl at that.
“You never know what they’re going to do until they do it,” he said. “And when they do it, you’re like ‘holy crap,’ I didn’t see that coming.”
Taylor is entering his fourth season in the NFL and the last on his rookie deal. The 25-year-old from Salem, New Jersey, dealt with injuries last season, but led the league in 2021 with 332 rushing attempts, 1,811 yards and 18 touchdowns, on the way to his first Pro Bowl nod.
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