Indianapolis Colts running back Jonathan Taylor attempted to dismiss the growing trade speculation after Sunday’s defeat in Minnesota, even as the rumors were amplified earlier in the week by his wife on social media.
“It’s already been out there, so I don’t think her adding to it really changes anything,” Taylor told reporters in Minneapolis following the Vikings’ 16-10 victory. “Everybody’s on TikTok these days. You just have to stay focused.”
On the field, Taylor delivered another strong performance, rushing 18 times for 95 yards and a touchdown. His effort came as the 2-5 Colts continue to struggle after recently parting ways with general manager Chris Ballard.
With Indianapolis slipping down the standings, Taylor’s name has surfaced in multiple trade reports. ESPN’s Stephen Holder recently reported that several teams have expressed interest in the 27-year-old Pro Bowl running back.
However, the most attention-grabbing comments came from Taylor’s wife, Ayanna, who spoke openly about the possibility of a trade in a selfie-style video shared online.
“My husband is currently the starting running back for the Colts,” Ayanna said. The Salem, New Jersey, native and Taylor’s high school sweetheart added that Jonathan has been with Indianapolis for seven years.
Jonathan Taylor produced another solid outing Sunday, rushing 18 times for 95 yards and a touchdown in the Colts’ 16-10 loss to Minnesota
Ayanna Taylor teased a follow-up video about the trade speculation, which was later posted
“That’s pretty unusual in the NFL,” she continued, repeatedly referring to the Colts as “we.” “You’re fortunate if you can stay with one team, and we’re now facing a situation we’ve never experienced before.”
“This could be the first time we’re not on the same team. We could be traded, and this all started last season.”
Ayanna then offered her assessment of Indianapolis’ recent decline, contrasting last year’s 8-9 campaign with the Colts’ current position just one game ahead of the AFC South cellar.
“The Colts were already under pressure last year, but then we went on an incredible run with our new quarterback, Daniel Jones, and everything looked promising,” she said. “Then he got injured, we began losing game after game, but the potential was still there. That allowed the general manager and coach Shane Steichen to keep their jobs for another season.”
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“Now fast-forward to today. Our record is 2-4 — an editor’s note makes that 2-5 — and we had just lost to a previously winless Titans team,” she said, referring to Indianapolis’ Week 5 loss. “They were 0-5 and are now 1-5. That led to Chris Ballard being fired, and players who once seemed untouchable could now be considered available. That’s why the rumors about my husband are circulating. But there’s more to it.”
Jonathan Taylor signed a two-year, $44 million extension in August that runs through the 2028 season, making any potential trade considerably more complicated
In her follow-up video, Ayanna pointed out that the Colts traded their next two first-round picks for cornerback Sauce Gardner, potentially leaving the team with fewer resources to find Taylor’s replacement.
“That brings us back to my husband,” she said. “Do they keep him? Or do they decide to cut their losses and trade him?”
It is unusual for a star player’s spouse to address NFL trade speculation so directly, and fans were quick to react.
“A star player’s wife publicly addressing trade rumors,” one fan joked. “What could possibly go wrong?”
Many others objected to her repeated use of ‘we’ when discussing her husband’s employment with the Colts.
‘We?’ one fan asked. ‘Oh hell nawwww.’
Mostly, fans took Ayanna’s post as an effort to force a trade and get her family out of Indianapolis.
‘Not trying to pile on her, but you’ve gotta have a severe lack of awareness to even post something like this,’ read one comment on X. ‘That or you just don’t give a s*** and want your husband off of the team.’
Taylor signed a two-year $44 million extension in August that keeps him under contract through the 2028 season and significantly complicates any potential trade.
The league’s trade deadline is set for November 10.
