Jonathan Taylor Trade Rumors: Packers Were Mystery Team Eyeing Colts RB at Deadline

The Green Bay Packers were reportedly among the teams showing a high level of interest in trading for Jonathan Taylor before the Indianapolis Colts' self-imposed deadline of 4 p.m. ET Tuesday.

Stephen Holder of ESPN reported the Packers were the so-called mystery team that kept in touch with Indianapolis down to the wire. The Miami Dolphins' interest in Taylor was well-publicized before the Colts pulled their star running back off the market and him on the physically unable to perform list.

On the other hand, Green Bay's desire to trade for Taylor is nothing short of a shock. The Packers already have two high-quality running backs on their roster in Aaron Jones and AJ Dillon. While one of those two backs was likely included in trade proposals, adding Taylor with the expense of a high draft pick and a sizable new contract for the running back would have been a curious choice.

Jones seems like a virtual certainty to leave the Packers after this season, given this advancing age and $11.1 million base salary for 2024. Dillon is a free agent after the 2023 campaign.

It's possible the Green Bay front office assessed the three backs and decided it was a better allocation of resources to hand Taylor a contract now than use the franchise tag on Dillon in 2024. Given the Colts' youthful roster, it's likelier Dillon was the back being floated as part of trade talks.

Having Taylor and Jones in the backfield would give the Packers the best 1-2 punch in recent modern history. Green Bay could then move on from Jones in 2024 while plugging in Taylor as the full-time back.

With that said, if the Packers were to pull off such a blockbuster, it would create an interesting locker room dynamic given Jones' high performance level in recent seasons.