NFL Rumors: Colts putting Jonathan Taylor's contract on the backburner
Colts owner Jim Irsay caused some drama this week after tweeting about NFL running backs wanting to alter the CBA to ensure star rushers could be paid more.
When he accused some agents of "selling bad faith," Jonathan Taylor's agent hit back that "Bad faith is not paying your top offensive player." The agent then quote tweeted Ian Rapoport pondering whether the team could repair the relationship by writing, "I doubt it."
Irsay spoke to ESPN to clarify his comments, saying they weren't aimed at Taylor or his agent. He explained that the Colts weren't even negotiating with Taylor right now…which is kind of the problem.
"We love Jonathan, we need Jonathan," Irsay told ESPN. "Our hope is Jonathan has an outstanding year and that we have a good year as a team and then we get his next contract done. That's the hope. We think the world of him as a person, as a player. It's just timing. When your time comes to get paid, then you get paid."
So yeah, the Colts aren't trying to get a deal with Taylor done, and they haven't offered him one either, preferring instead to wait until after the season when the star running back's contract is up.
Just add this to the list of things signalling that Taylor won't be sticking around Indianapolis.
NFL Rumors: Jalen Ramsey will be out until December
Dolphins fans got relatively good news after Jalen Ramsey suffered an injury injury to his left knee during training camp. He did not tear his ACL, instead suffering a meniscus injury that would require surgery, but wouldn't end his season before it began. While returning for the start of the season was not likely, a best case scenario could see the corner could miss as few as six weeks.
Unfortunately, Friday brought bad news. According to Ian Rapoport, doctors performing the surgery on Ramsey needed to do a full repair of the ligament damage instead of just a trim. That means he will be out until December.
It's still much better that Ramsey avoided ACL damage. There would be no hope of a return this season if he did. It's just a bummer that the meniscus damage was as severe as it turned out to be.
The Dolphins traded for Ramsey in March and had high hopes for what he could bring to their defense. He can still bring those things, it just has to wait.
The window for a return now begins after Week 12. Miami finishes the season with games against the Commanders, Titans, Jets, Cowboys, Ravens and Bills. You can bet the Dolphins will hope to have Ramsey back for most of those with an eye on reaching max strength for the playoffs.
NFL Rumors: Sean Payton is going to unleash Russell Wilson's legs
Russell Wilson was a shell of himself last season in Nathaniel Hacket's offense. He had one of his worst seasons as a passer and looked far more limited as a runner than he's been in his career.
Part of that was because of playing through injury. He was also carrying extra weight. This year, the plan is to have him carrying the football more often instead.
In 15 games in 2022, Wilson had 277 yards on 55 carries. That's not a career-low (he had 183 yards on 43 carries in the year below in Seattle) but it's still less than the Broncos expect from the quarterback this year.
James Palmer tweeted that Sean Payton is encouraging Wilson to use his legs more. That'll yield more than just rushing yards. Getting out of the pocket should help open up passing opportunities for the quarterback as well.
Payton didn't have a quarterback capable of making plays with his legs during his time with the Saints. It's easy to imagine he's chomping at the bit to play around with what Wilson can do on the ground. Wilson's career high rushing is 849 yards and six touchdowns on 118 carries in 2014. He's a long way from that 26-year-old kid but it should still be fun to see him moving around more in 2023.
