INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Indianapolis Colts coach Shane Steichen insisted Wednesday that Pro Bowl running back Jonathan Taylor's workload would not change this weekend against the Dallas Cowboys.
Instead, Steichen, Taylor and the Colts say they're still playing to win.
Taylor carried eight times in last week's embarrassing 42-7 loss at Jacksonville, a noticeable decrease from his previous season low of 15 carries at Pittsburgh and tied for the fifth-fewest in his seven-year career.
Still, Steichen said the team was not protecting its top trade asset from injury and would not on the final Sunday before next week's trade deadline.
“I think there's a lot of stuff out there right now, but he's on our football and he's excited for this opportunity to play. He wants to go win this game,” Steichen said. “There's a lot of hypotheticals out there on the trade talks right now, but he's on our football team.”
Taylor does not typically take questions on Wednesday. He's expected to speak with reporters as usual Thursday.
The 27-year-old old Taylor has been a hot topic on the trading block with speculation rapidly increasing after general manager Chris Ballard was fired two weeks and longtime teammates Quenton Nelson and DeForest Buckner were dealt for draft picks last week.
During last week's interview, the 27-year-old Taylor, who finished third in the league in rushing in 2025 and is fifth this year, made an impassioned plea for players to show fans the Colts (2-6) have not given up on this season — even though the personnel moves clearly signaled team co-owner Carlie Irsay-Gordon was ready to rebuild next season.
After Sunday's debacle, Taylor again urged his teammates to stay focused on winning now rather than contemplating the franchise's future plans or whether he would be on the roster beyond this week's game.
“Teams are going to look at us even more, foaming at the mouth,” the team captain said in Jacksonville. "Your back is against the wall, what are you going to do? You’re going to have to fight your way out of a corner. This is not getting nowhere near any easier, you've got to accept that, and when you accept that, that’s just the first step.”
Indy already made one move for 2027 by re-signing defensive tackle Adetomiwa Adebawore. His two-year contract is worth $35 million with $22 million guaranteed and a $13 million signing bonus and it keeps him off the free-agent market.
It's been a breakout season for Adebawore, who already has matched his career high with four sacks.
“I wanted to be here, so Carlie came up to me and we went through the negotiations and I felt very comfortable with the situation,” Adebawore said. “I'm glad we got it done, I'm excited for this week.”
How the Colts intend to proceed remains unclear, other than the fact Irsay-Gordon is content to collect draft picks and shed salary cap so Indy can be more active in the offseason and perhaps more attractive to Ballard's replacement since they don't have a first-round pick in 2027. Ballard sent that pick to the New York Jets last November for All-Pro cornerback Sauce Gardner.
Wednesday marked the anniversary of that deal, one that has not worked out the way Indy had hoped. The Colts were a league-best 8-2 when they added Gardner to help end a then four-year playoff drought and make a deep postseason run.
But Gardner got hurt, quarterback Daniel Jones suffered a broken bone in his left leg and a torn right Achilles tendon, and the Colts didn't win another game.
They're 2-13 since that trade, including a home loss when they were serenaded with boos and chants of “Fire Ballard!” in their last home game, something Gardner hopes to change.
“It's not going exactly how I wanted it to go, obviously, because it goes without saying I wanted to go the playoffs last year,” Gardner said. “Same thing this year. We've got a lot more football to play, but just wish we could more (wins). But we've got a unique opportunity to go out and see what we can do.”
Gardner's perspective heading into the Tuesday deadline also is interesting because he was in this same situation last year and sat out his final Jets game with a concussion.
Now the question is whether anyone will sit for Indy?
Steichen has not wavered in his support of Daniel Jones as Indy's starting quarterback despite this season's penchant for turnovers and the possibility he could be attractive for a quarterback-needy team with one year left on his $88 million contract.
Receiver Josh Downs also is available after requesting a trade last week. He's expected to face his brother, Cowboys safety Caleb Downs, on Sunday.
Steichen, whose job also is in jeopardy, noted he's worried about his status with the organization and hasn't been told by anyone in the front office who he should play — or who he shouldn't.
“I think all the guys that are on our football team are getting ready to go play a football game,” he said. “Those are the conversations I've had with those guys (in the front office), that we're going out to try to go win a football game right now. That's where we're at.”
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