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The drama filled holdout by Jonathan Taylor, as he seeks a contract extension from the Indianapolis Colts, has dominated headlines all summer.
A player that two years ago, heck even as recently as April, seemed destined to be the latest franchise face for the Colts now appears ready to move on.
That instance in April marked the last time publicly that JT had a neutral / casual perspective on the idea of getting a contract extension. Not to say he didn’t want one, but that he was handling his business with an “it will all work out” approach.
In other words, the unwritten PR rules of don’t air grievances to the media, let things play out, and you’ll be taken care of soon enough, were on full display.
More from Jonathan Taylor: “It wouldn’t be a distraction to me (to not get an extension before the season). I’m under contract here for four years. I put the pen to the paper … I made an obligation to them. They made an obligation to me. But things will happen naturally.” #Colts https://t.co/gd3uNRImPS
— James Boyd (@RomeovilleKid) April 19, 2023
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The next few times Jonathan Taylor addressed the matter, it was clear his overall tune on getting an extension had changed from patiently waiting to taking matters into his own hands.
That first public increase in tension occurred with him quote tweeting ESPN’s Matt Miller’s advice about how NFL teams should treat running backs.
1. If you’re good enough, they’ll find you.
2. If you work hard enough, you’ll succeed.
…If you succeed…
3. You boost the Organization
…and then…
Doesn’t matter, you’re a RB https://t.co/mG6In1ATGg
— Jonathan Taylor (@JayT23) July 17, 2023
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Of course another inflection point was Colts owner Jim Irsay’s strange comments to the media and his careless at best, malicious at worst, tweet regarding running backs in the NFL.
NFL Running Back situation- We have negotiated a CBA,that took years of effort and hard work and compromise in good faith by both sides..to say now that a specific Player category wants another negotiation after the fact,is inappropriate. Some Agents are selling ‘bad faith’..
— Jim Irsay (@JimIrsay) July 26, 2023
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While he didn’t mention JT by name, it was easy for many to look at that and say it was a shot directed at Taylor and his new agent Malki Kawa.
Kawa felt as much, because he quickly jumped into the Twitter octagon to punch back at Irsay.
Bad faith is not paying your top offensive player https://t.co/ZYvrLhxygG
— malki kawa (@malkikawa) July 27, 2023
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The latest development in this saga is Jonathan Taylor being away from the team on an excused absence in order to rehab his ankle.
From Inside Training Camp: #Colts RB Jonathan Taylor will be away from the team for a bit with an excused absence. pic.twitter.com/c73Ko9Tk5C
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) August 8, 2023
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Your guess is as good as mine on what is real and what is gamesmanship at this point in the feud between player and team.
As we look at everything that has happened this summer, however, one thing is clear: Jonathan Taylor’s feelings changed drastically since April.
The only real change that happened over that time was JT sought new representation and hired Kawa and Front Office Management to do it.
Ever since, negotiations have broken down and the relationship between Taylor and the Colts has gone down hill.
Which begs the question: how much is Malki Kawa to blame?
Wednesday on The Fan Midday Show Jimmy Cook, James Boyd, and Eddie Garrison discussed the JT situation with Jimmy and Eddie placing the blame solely on Malki and James pushing back citing more at play then just Front Office Management.
Listen to the discussion below and don’t miss The Fan Midday Show, weekdays 12-3pm Eastern, on The Fan.
