Seahawks interested in trade for Colts RB Jonathan Taylor, report says

Bob Condotta, The Seattle Times on Oct 31, 2026

Published in Football

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SEATTLE — Even after the Seahawks traded for left guard Quenton Nelson, one question lingered — could they still make a run at Nelson’s former Colts teammate, running back Jonathan Taylor?

News that broke from ESPN on Saturday indicated it may be more of possibility than it appeared a few days ago.

ESPN reported that the Colts “are now open to trading” Taylor and that “multiple teams have reached out to Indianapolis, and those talks are said to be active and ongoing, according to sources.”

Among the teams said to have “expressed at least some level of interest” in trading for Taylor? The Seahawks, along with the Broncos, Packers, Vikings and Giants.

Any deal would have to be done by the deadline of Nov. 10.

While the Colts traded Nelson to the Seahawks and defensive lineman DeForest Buckner to the 49ers this week amid a fire sale after a 2-5 start, indications were that the team wanted to hold on to the 27-year-old Taylor. Especially after having signed him to a two-year, $44 million contract extension in August.

While ESPN reported that the Colts “are said to prefer” that Taylor remain with the team as part of its rebuild, “they also recognize the potential haul Taylor could bring in a trade.”

The Colts are said to want a lot for Taylor, a seven-year veteran and three-time Pro Bowl pick who leads the NFL in rushing touchdowns with eight and has averaged 4.8 yards per carry in his career.

ESPN reports the Colts have “already have received at least one offer that includes a second-round draft pick, along with additional compensation.”

Some speculation has been that the Colts want a package similar to what Carolina got in 2022 for trading Christian McCaffrey to the 49ers — second-, third-, fourth- and fifth-round picks.

The Seahawks still have 10 picks projected for 2027, including five expected compensatory picks. They traded a 2027 third-rounder to get Nelson, but they are expected to get a third-rounder among its compensatory picks.

So the Seahawks have the draft capital to pull off something if they desire.

While Taylor’s contract seems daunting when looking at the raw numbers, a closer look makes a trade more possible.

Taylor’s deal does not include any guaranteed money beyond the 2026 season, so a team trading for him could cut him after the season and allow him to become a free agent and owe him about $4.4 million for the rest of this season and up to about $1 million in incentives, according to OvertheCap.com.

His deal includes a trigger date of Feb. 19, 2027 when a team would have to guarantee his $15 million salary and $1.020 million pregame roster bonus, or release him. It includes a similar trigger for the 2028 season, guaranteeing a $7.5 million bonus as well as cap hits of $21 million and $22.9 million for the 2027 and 2028 seasons.

It’s hard to imagine the Seahawks would take those numbers on without making an adjustment.

But the Seahawks could trade for Taylor for the rest of this season and release him, or try to work out a different contract.

Still, the Seahawks would have some work to do to fit in a roughly $5.5 million cap hit for the rest of this season.

The Seahawks have $3.8 million in remaining cap space after the moves this week to trade for Nelson and waive Christian Haynes, not enough to get Taylor.

They also need some additional cap space for things such as injured reserve and other expenses that might arise the rest of the season.

One possible solution was floated Saturday by The Athletic — trading veteran defensive lineman Jarran Reed.

The Athletic reported that Reed is “a name tossed about by some teams” as potentially being available.

Reed, 33, has a base salary for this season of $5.4 million. A team trading for him would take on a prorated share of that salary and cap it, which at the moment would be roughly $3 million or so — potentially just enough to trade for Taylor.

The Seahawks could do other cap maneuvering to create space to add Taylor, as well.

Then the question would be if he’s worth it. Some have noted that Taylor is averaging a career-worst 4.2 yards per carry, though he’s coming off good performance against the tough defense of the Vikings with 95 yards on 21 carries, 5.3 per attempt, last Sunday.

The Seahawks are anticipating getting back 2026 first-round pick Jadarian Price and Zach Charbonnet to their backfield. Some have thought trading for Nelson and adding Price and Charbonnet might be enough to revive the running game.

But the Seahawks could view themselves as in complete “win now” mode with a defense that remains among the best in the NFL and only an inconsistent offense potentially standing in the way of a second straight Super Bowl title.

Maybe that would compel the Seahawks to do what it takes to get Taylor for the remainder of the season and worry about the future later.