The Indianapolis Colts got ahead of the trade deadline.

After entering the season with playoff aspirations, Indianapolis has backslid. The Colts look more like the team that finished 2025 on a seven-game losing streak than the one that started that campaign 7-1.

At 2-5, Indianapolis has already fired general manager Chris Ballard -- the man who opted to get the band back together even after last year's frustrating falloff. Now they've shipped out one of the team's most impactful starters in the face of another lost year. The Colts traded Quenton Nelson, six-time All-Pro and 2018 Ballard draftee, to the Seattle Seahawks in exchange for a 2027 third-round pick and a 2028 fifth-rounder.

He's likely the first domino to fall as the NFL trade deadline approaches. November 10 at 4 p.m. E.T. will mark the end of deal season, at least until Super Bowl 61 is in the books.

Indianapolis has set up a billboard to tell the league it's a seller. That could mean saying goodbye to one of the franchise's stars. So what lies ahead for three-time Pro Bowl tailback Jonathan Taylor?

Why the Colts could trade Taylor

Taylor has salary cap hits of $21 million in 2027 and $22 million in 2028, but has no remaining guaranteed money remaining on his two-year, $44 million contract extension after this season. While that wouldn't be difficult to restructure to more manageable numbers, it would also leave him as an island in a sea of rebuilding unpredictability.

Daniel Jones has regressed back to the player the New York Giants couldn't fix. The receiving corps has badly underwhelmed without Alec Pierce (injury) or Michael Pittman Jr. (traded to the Steelers) in it. Taylor ran for nearly 1,600 yards and 18 touchdowns last season and still didn't make the playoffs. This year he's on pace for 1,400 rush yards and 19 touchdowns and the Colts are 2-5.

There are a lot of miles on the 27-year-old's odometer. He's had more than 1,900 NFL touches on top of nearly 1,000 more in three seasons as a Wisconsin Badger. He had at least 190 rushing yards over expected (RYOE) each of the previous two seasons but is at -1 through seven games in 2026. His yards after contact and catch rate out of the backfield are both down. Losing one of the league's most accomplished run blockers in Nelson won't help.

Indianapolis could opt to trade him a year too early rather than a year too late. Importantly, the Colts don't have a first round pick next season thanks to last year's big trade deadline swing that shipped two Day 1 picks to the New York Jets in exchange for Sauce Gardner. With head coach Shane Steichen likely on the way out, a new coach/GM combination will need all the ammunition it can get to rebuild a roster that hasn't won a playoff game since Andrew Luck was quarterback.

Why the Colts wouldn't trade Taylor

Taylor is a stable building block who could unite the Ballard era with the one on the horizon. With Daniel Jones struggling, the Colts may need him to carry the offense and create the runway for yet another unlikely revival from the mercurial quarterback. He's also a reason to keep fans in Indiana engaged.