NFL

Jonathan Taylor allowed to seek trade, but will it happen? Plus, the Ravens’ preseason streak ends

by
SaC Bot
August 22, 2023

Happy Tuesday, everyone! Hope you’re well.

Let’s get right to it.

🏈 Good morning to everyone but especially …

JONATHAN TAYLOR

Jonathan Taylor‘s trade request hasn’t been granted, but the star running back now has a chance to influence the process and help facilitate the outcome he seeks. The Colts granted Taylor permission to seek a trade in the latest twist of what’s been a dramatic offseason.

Taylor, 24, first expressed frustrations with the running back market when none of his franchise-tagged peers — Saquon Barkley, Josh Jacobs or Tony Pollard — reached long-term deals. Taylor will be a free agent after this season.
Colts owner Jim Irsay pushed back on Taylor’s frustration, and a trade request was submitted. Irsay has said he will not trade Taylor. Other team executives, though, were reportedly open to trading him.
Part of Taylor’s trade request reportedly comes from his frustration with the team’s medical staff. Taylor remains on the physically unable to perform list after having offseason ankle surgery and has been in and out of training camp.

Let’s be clear here: The Colts granting Taylor permission to seek a trade does not mean a trade is imminent. The Colts are reportedly asking for a first-round pick or its equivalent, and those types of trades are few and far between. Christian McCaffrey drew a similar package in 2022 from the 49ers, but before that, the last example was Trent Richardson in 2013. Plus, just months ago, the Chargers granted Austin Ekeler the same permission, and Ekeler hasn’t been traded.

On the other hand, Taylor’s circumstances differ from those Ekeler faced.

Ekeler was 27 when he requested his trade. Taylor is 24.
Ekeler was an undrafted free agent and got a second contract from Los Angeles. Taylor, a second-round pick, is entering the last season of his rookie deal.
Ekeler’s trade request was over contract negotiations. Taylor has issues with the medical staff in addition to the contract frustrations. Furthermore, there’s a rift between Taylor and Irsay; Ekeler had no such issues with Chargers ownership.

Even so, it’s worth exploring potential trade destinations for Taylor, and we have plenty of them.

As for another running back mired in contract controversy this offseason, Jacobs is expected to report to the Raiders before Week 1.

👍 Honorable mentions

👎 Not so honorable mentions

🧐 Jim Harbaugh to serve self-imposed suspension

USATSI

First it was four games. Then it was no games. Now, it’s three games, and let’s just hope the third time’s the charm so we can put this matter to bed. Jim Harbaugh will serve a self-imposed three-game suspension as his NCAA case remains unresolved.

“While the ongoing NCAA matter continues through the NCAA process, today’s announcement is our way of addressing mistakes that our department has agreed to in an attempt to further that process,” Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel said as part of a statement.
Harbaugh is accused of providing false or misleading information to the NCAA, a Level I violation. It came after the NCAA initially investigated four potential Level-II violations that allegedly occurred during the COVID-19 dead period.
In late July, it looked like Harbaugh would be suspended four games. But negotiations between the school and the NCAA ended without an official suspension, and for the past week-plus, it looked like Harbaugh would coach the entire year as the case is unlikely to be settled until 2024.
Under this newest suspension, Harbaugh will miss home games against East Carolina, UNLV and Bowling Green.

Michigan is second in both the AP Top 25 and the Coaches Poll.

🥇 Sha’Carri Richardson wins 100-meter title

Break a record, claim a title and make a statement, Sha’Carri Richardson: You’ve earned it. The star sprinter from the United States ran a 10.65 to win the 100 meters at the world championships, the fastest time ever at the event.

Richardson beat out Jamaica’s Shericka Jackson (10.72) and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce (10.77) to win.
She won despite barely even making the final. Richardson ran a 10.84 in the semifinal. Still, she had the fastest time of all of the non-qualifiers (top eight), giving her the last spot — in Lane 9, the outermost lane.
Richardson, 23, is the first American to win the 100-meter world title since the late Tori Bowie in 2017.

It’s the latest and biggest step in Richardson’s remarkable comeback, which is still just beginning. Richardson won the 100 meters at Olympic Trials back in 2021 but was suspended after testing positive for marijuana, a banned substance. She did not compete in Tokyo. The situation sparked outrage across the sports world and even led to the World Anti-Doping Agency reviewing whether marijuana should be on the banned list (it is still on the list).

Richardson didn’t qualify for the 2022 World Athletics Championships as she dealt with injuries. But she’s come on strong in 2023, and this is her biggest win yet. As she said in the post-race interview: “I’m not back. I’m better.”

🏈 Preseason Week 2 overreactions, reality checks

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With Week 2 of the preseason officially over, many starters are done until the regular season, and many roster battles are entering their final stages.

If that’s true for Jaxon Smith-Njigba, what an impression he left. The first wide receiver off the board in April’s NFL Draft, Smith-Njigba has hauled in three passes in each of his two preseason games, including a 48-yarder Saturday. Is he destined to be the Offensive Rookie of the Year? Jeff Kerr addressed that exact question in his overreactions and reality checks.

Kerr: “Overreaction or reality: Overreaction — Smith-Njigba is going to be dangerous in the NFL in Year 1, yet it will be difficult to put up consistent numbers with Tyler Lockett and DK Metcalf with him at wide receiver. This rookie class also has Bryce Young, Anthony Richardson, C.J. Stroud, and Bijan Robinson — all expected to play significant snaps and put up numbers for their teams. Jordan Addison and Zay Flowers also exist in this class. Is Smith-Njigba a darkhorse for the award? Absolutely, but it will be difficult for him to win it.”

I agree with Jeff here. That Seattle offense is loaded, so there’s a major competition for targets. As for somewhere there’s not competition? Jeff says one quarterback battle is all but over.

Kerr: “Kyle Trask is out of running for Buccaneers’ starting QB job: Reality — Baker Mayfield didn’t play at all, along with a few of the prominent Buccaneers starters on both sides of the ball. Trask could have made the case he deserved the starting job with better play in the first half, but Saturday’s preseason game appeared to tell who the starting quarterback of the Buccaneers really is.”

As for a battle in Tampa that’s officially over, Chase McLaughlin won the kicking job after Rodrigo Blankenship was waived.

🏀 Ex-Houston, Arkansas forward Reggie Chaney dies at 23

Former Houston and Arkansas forward Reggie Chaney died Monday at 23 years old, CBS Sports’ Matt Norlander confirmed. The cause of death was not immediately released.

Chaney started his career at Arkansas and played two years for the Razorbacks before transferring to Houston in 2020.
Chaney immediately became a contributor for the Cougars, who reached the Final Four in his first season with the team. He also spent 2021-22 and 2022-23 with Houston, winning conference sixth man of the year last season.
Chaney was slated to begin his professional career in Greece.