Colts Day 2 Minicamp: Jonathan Taylor Talks New Contract

Colts Day 2 Minicamp Notebook: Jonathan Taylor Talks New Contract

INDIANAPOLIS – The Colts are almost at the finish line of their spring offseason program.

On Wednesday, the team held their 2^nd of 3 minicamp practices, with this being the lone mandatory period of the spring work.

Here are some takeaways from the Colts 2^nd minicamp practice:

-Is more Jonathan Taylor contract drama coming? I would assume (hope?) no. But Taylor is entering a contract year, and is currently the 7^th ranked running back in the NFL salary wise. “I want to be a Colt for life,” is how Taylor answered a question on Wednesday if he wants a new contract before the start of the 2026 season. Taylor, 27, is heading into his 7^th NFL season, after leading the league in carries last season. Taylor says he’s told the Colts his desire to stay with the franchise for his entire career, but getting an extension remains a question for later this summer. It’s not often you see a running back, in modern football, get a 3^rd contract with one team. But Taylor has a resume that would give reason for one. And the Colts are sitting on a good amount of cap space left here in ’26. For now, Taylor’s tone of wanting a new contract is nowhere near as adamant as he was a few years back when he held out of training camp.

-After some hints that Alec Pierce’s left ankle recovery might not have him ready for training camp, the wide receiver confirmed that on Wednesday. Pierce said persistent ankle pain led to him having surgery in late March, with the timetable for his recovery in the 4-to-6 month range (4 months would be late July, 6 months would be late September). After playing through persistent ankle pain for multiple seasons, Pierce and the Colts medical team originally decided for a platelet-rich-plasma (PRP) shot for the wideout’s ankle after the season ended in January. The thinking then was after 6-to-8 weeks, the ankle could have progressed to a point where surgery wasn’t needed. But as the pain lingered, the parties involved said surgery would be the best option for Pierce’s long-term health. Pierce said the rehab process has been tough, knowing how hard to push the recovery, with bouts of pain still occasionally popping up. With Pierce acknowledging that his return date could be pushing deeper into camp/potentially close to the start of the season, will this have the Colts pursuing a veteran wideout come training camp time? Shane Steichen did say on Tuesday that Pierce could miss 1 or 2 weeks of training camp. Again, the Colts have some real injury questions regarding their best players: Daniel Jones-Achilles, Alec Pierce-ankle, DeForest Buckner-neck, Charvarius Ward Sr.-concussion.

-In regards to Daniel Jones, I have said quite often this season that there are two separate questions for me in regards to his return: No. 1: When is Jones back playing football again? That sounds like it should be for the season opener. No. 2: When is Jones back playing football, and looking like himself? The second part makes it harder to gauge. Offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter agrees with the notion that the Colts had to limit some things game plan/play calling wise when Jones played through his initial calf injury for a few games last season. The trickle-down effect of that hit the entire offense, particularly the starts of the season that Tyler Warren and Jonathan Taylor had. So, how quickly Jones starts looking like his self, with the ability to move in and out of the pocket, will be a massive item to watch come September and beyond.

-Defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo has seemed to downplay the communication transition to having a rookie in CJ Allen be the new quarterback of the Colts defense, with Zaire Franklin now in Green Bay. Anarumo chuckled on Wednesday when asked about Allen’s communication progress on Wednesday. The DC said it’s always a work in progress with the young guys, but he’s been pleased with how Allen has handled things.

-The Colts staff is very high on the professionalism of rookie A.J. Haulcy. Lou Anarumo joined his fellow coaches in that praise on Wednesday. Anarumo said Haulcy has exceeded his expectations mentally, saying he’s not a repeat offender and loves how he approaches the subtleties to the game of football. It’s probably fair to say Haulcy is the lead guy for the strong safety starting job with Nick Cross now in Washington.

-Speaking of young guys, Justin Walley is certainly the lead man to take the departing role of Kenny Moore II. The Colts typically use a third cornerback around 70 percent of their defensive snaps, so look for Walley to play quite a bit as he comes off his torn ACL. Lou Anarumo said on Wednesday that he hasn’t seen much drop off from Walley in coming back.

-Reminder, this is the final week of the Colts spring offseason program. It’s the only mandatory part of the spring, with a 3-day non full-padded minicamp (Tuesday-Thursday). The Colts will then be off until late July, when they begin training camp.