The Indianapolis Colts traded away two Pro Bowl starters on Tuesday, and now the wife of star running back Jonathan Taylor says she’s bracing for the possibility her own family could be uprooted next.
Indianapolis sent Pro Bowl guard Quenton Nelson to the Seattle Seahawks and Pro Bowl defensive tackle DeForest Buckner to the San Francisco 49ers, both in exchange for draft picks. The team, sitting at 2-5, is betting those picks will help rebuild the roster for future seasons. In the meantime, players and their families are left guessing who’s next.
Jonathan Taylor is reportedly among the names in trade discussions ahead of the Nov. 10 deadline. His wife, Ayanna Taylor, laid out her worries in a video posted to TikTok.
“So naturally, my mind is spiraling. Is this the start of the trading frenzy? What does this mean for my husband and I? Do I need to start packing our bags? Are we even going to be spending our daughter’s first Halloween together? Will we make it to game day? Or was last week the last time my husband will be putting on a Colts jersey?”
She added that the uncertainty comes with the territory of being married to an NFL player, but that doesn’t make it easier.
“Because here’s the thing. In the NFL, your life can literally change with one phone call or apparently one post. And sometimes you just find out while running errands on a random Tuesday.”
This isn’t the first upheaval the Taylor family has dealt with this year. The Colts traded wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr. and linebacker Zaire Franklin during the offseason, both players whose families Ayanna Taylor had grown close to.
“Something that people may not realize about the NFL is like, yes, you understand that changes come with it. For years, I’ve been surrounded by the same women. Our husbands work together. We’ve built friendships and you know, we’ve just grown up in the league together. At least for me, we were on a completely different team because for the first time, some of the women who I started this life experience with were no longer going to be on the same team as me.”
She also raised a football question: how will her husband perform without Nelson, whom she called the best offensive lineman Jonathan Taylor has played behind in his career? So far this season, the loss of key teammates hasn’t slowed him down. In seven games, Taylor has rushed for 587 yards and eight touchdowns, and caught 17 passes for 178 yards.
Taylor signed a two-year, $44 million extension with the Colts in August and is under team control through 2028. That contract, at least on paper, suggests Indianapolis sees him as part of its long-term plans. But after this week’s moves, nothing is guaranteed.
The Colts host the 4-2 Jacksonville Jaguars at 1 p.m. ET Sunday. If Indianapolis keeps dealing players before the deadline, it’s possible that game could be Taylor’s last in a Colts uniform.
