Tag or lock up long-term? Colts face upcoming decisions on two of team’s best players

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INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA - OCTOBER 5: Indianapolis Colts running back Jonathan Taylor #28 celebrates after a 2-point conversion with guard Quenton Nelson #56 during an NFL football game against the Las Vegas Raiders at Lucas Oil Stadium on October 5, 2025 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Todd Rosenberg/Getty Images) | Getty Images

According to CBS Sports Joel Corry, the Indianapolis Colts should already be anticipating lucrative looming pay days again for a pair of pending 2027 free agents: starting left guard Quenton Nelson and running back Jonathan Taylor respectively.

Per Corry, should Nelson ‘reset the offensive guard market again,’ which he already did back in 2022, when he signed a 4-year, $80 million contract extension, ‘Big Q’ could command anywhere from $27.5 million to $29 million per year—even at the age of 30-years-old. A high price to pay for arguably a non-premium NFL position.

Meanwhile, while the running back market hasn’t exactly appreciated recently, the NFL’s salary cap sure has. Adjusting Taylor’s current 3-year, $42 million contract extension signed back in 2023, and the Colts star workhorse could earn another contract averaging around $18.75 million per year—accounting for the league’s salary cap inflation since inking his last deal.

Now, things get interesting because like we saw this offseason between breakout lead wideout Alec Pierce and starting quarterback Daniel Jones, the Colts only have one franchise tag to potentially use on either star player—which caused a lot of Colts fans angst when the former hit the open free agent market without any sort of tag.

Given that offensive guards can age very gracefully until their mid-thirties, with Nelson’s blocking technique and fundamentals remaining pristine, and it appears unlikely that the Colts will not want Nelson to be a Horseshoe lifer.

Specifically, it’s hard to see them not agreeing to another lucrative contract extension with their 6x NFL All-Pro and 8x NFL Pro Bowl left guard, who appears eventually Canton-bound when it’s all said and done. He’s the type of player that the Colts will want to keep in Horseshoe blue for his entire career—if they can have it their way.

Rather, given that the Colts already played ‘hardball’ with Taylor previously, during a contentious contract holdout back in the 2023 offseason and training camp, and he seems more likely to be the franchise tag recipient—particularly when considering the heavy mileage on his tires and the shorter shelf lives for running backs.

In my opinion, given the great care that he takes care of his body, it seems reasonable that the 27-year-old Taylor could have at least 2-3 elite playing seasons left, but realistically expecting more than that could be wishful thinking. That being said, Baltimore Ravens running back Derrick Henry continues to be a beast even at 32-years-old relatively speaking, so you never know. However, history at the position has shown us to not bet on it.

At any rate, Corry does an exceptional job of explaining the franchise tag for either pending 2026 Colts All-Pro free agent:

The 120% of prior year’s salary provisions will be applicable to both Nelson and Taylor for a 2027 franchise tag. Since Nelson’s 2026 cap number is $24.02 million, it will be $29.04 million to put a franchise tag on him. Taylor’s tag number will be $18,674,400 given his $15.562 million 2026 cap number. The figures from the franchise tag formula won’t this high next year considering the current offensive line and running back costs are $25.773 million and $14.293 million, respectively.

While a lot can certainly change from now to then, the Colts are expected to currently have around $71.08 million of available team salary cap space next offseason. Their pending ‘Future Ring of Honor’ free agent pairing should take top priority, regardless of who may be calling the shots for the Colts, which is another topic entirely.

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