Colts owner Jim Irsay attempted to do a bit of damage control on Thursday after sending out a tweet that could have been construed as a shot at Indianapolis running back Jonathan Taylor.
On Wednesday, Irsay dipped into the controversy surrounding running backs and said: “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.’”
Irsay, in an interview with ESPN on Thursday, said his tweet was not aimed at Taylor, but he did reveal that the Colts have not made any offer to the back entering the final year of his rookie contract.
Taylor is looking for a new contract and Irsay’s tweet on Wednesday seemed to take things into uncharted territory, possibly even changing the feeling Taylor had about staying with the team.
“The comment wasn’t really directed at Jonathan,” Irsay told ESPN. “We haven’t exchanged any contract numbers with each other or anything like that. So, it’s not like we’re in the midst of that. I think we had a tough season last year. Didn’t win a lot of games.
“This is a year about coming back together and having a great year and we’re really depending on Jonathan to team up with [quarterback] Anthony Richardson to try and pull together to have a great year.”
Though Irsay attempted to smooth things over Thursday, Wednesday’s tweet could have an impact on where things stand with Taylor.
The NFL owner was reacting to comments by Pittsburgh Steelers running back Najee Harris that some of the league’s top running backs were discussing the idea of changing the way salaries for franchise-tagged players are determined, especially after players like Saquon Barkley could not agree to long-term deals.
Irsay was not a fan of that and in part said that “some agents are selling ‘bad faith.’”
Irsay’s remarks did not sit well with Taylor’s agent, Malki Kawa.
“Bad faith is not paying your top offensive player,” Kawa said in a quote tweet of Irsay’s original comment.
Then in another quote tweet, he replied to an Ian Rapoport tweet that said “Hope this relationship can be fixed…”
“I doubt it,” wrote the agent.
Add another wrinkle to it all, the fact it sounded as though the Colts had no intention of giving Taylor a new deal before playing the final year of his rookie contract.
“We love Jonathan, we need Jonathan,” Irsay said. “Our hope is Jonathan has an outstanding year and that we have a good year as a team and then we get his next contract done. That’s the hope. We think the world of him as a person, as a player. It’s just timing.
“When your time comes to get paid, then you get paid.”
Taylor has started training camp on the physically unable to perform list after undergoing offseason ankle surgery.
He lead the NFL in rushing with 1,811 yards in 2021.
Irsay insisted that the Colts have not shied away from rewarding their star players.
“We’ve always paid our players,” he said.
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