Jonathan Taylor to the Bears: Exploring a Hypothetical
Indianapolis, Indiana (PSF)- The Jonathan Taylor trade saga started with a bang. As of recently, Taylor has requested a trade but has received pushback from Colts owner, Jim Irsay. Irsay made it clear that the team will not be trading Taylor. Odds are this situation isn’t fixed by the start of the season. I see Taylor staying put with the Colts, he doesn’t have much leverage in this situation. Taylor could put pressure on the Colts by missing training camp or even games during the season. If he wants to get his way he has to make the organization feel uncomfortable. Regardless of how this all plays out, I wanted to explore a potential trade for fun.
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Reports over the last few days have discussed numerous teams being interested in Taylor. One team that makes the most sense if a trade was to be made is the Chicago Bears. Adding Taylor to the Bears makes sense for numerous reasons. First, financially this deal would work. The Bears have more than $28 million in cap, adding Taylor would not hurt them in that department. Roster-wise, the trade would make sense as well. The Bears lack a threat in the backfield, the team has serviceable options but nothing that moves the needle. Heading into the 2023 season, it is believed that Chicago will have D’Onta Foreman and Khalil Herbet to split carries. Both showed flashes in 2022, but they are not elite backs. The same cannot be said about Taylor, when healthy he is a top-five back in the NFL.
Another factor that affects this deal is Justin Fields. Yes, Chicago would be adding a star back to improve their roster but this will also take their offense as a whole to another level. Chicago adding Taylor would open up the read option game even more than it already is. Fields showed his elite physical traits numerous times in 2022, now imagine this year when teams have to scheme for both him and Taylor in the running game. Another positive is that this will give Fields another weapon to rely on. Of course, Taylor will be used in the running game, but he will also improve the passing game. Taylor is a solid blocker, this will help Fields stand in the pocket for a longer period of time allowing him to make those big-time throws. Last, Taylor and Field’s domination in the run game will force defenses to put more guys in the box. This will only open up the field in the passing games for guys like D.J. Moore, Cole Kmet, and Darnell Mooney. I doubt much happens but if Taylor is moved, I would like to see this scenario play out.
