Jonathan Taylor offers emotional goodbye to Indy after final game before trade deadline

INDIANAPOLIS – Jonathan Taylor said he didn’t know, and this answer, at least, felt earnest . Taylor, along with the Colts fanbase and his teammates, left Lucas Oil Stadium on Sunday not knowing if it was the last time the franchise leader in rushing touchdowns would do so as a Colt. The 27-year-old continues to be embroiled in a weeks-long trade deadline storm of rumors and speculation about his future. “I don’t know. I’m not sure. I know as much as you,” the Colts ’ star running back told reporters postgame Sunday night, following the team’s 27-23 Week 9 loss to the Cowboys when asked whether he believed he’d played his last game representing the Horseshoe. “I think you play every game like it’s your last.” And then Taylor, who finished with just 13 carries for 46 yards to make for one of the least-productive two-game stretches of his six-plus-year NFL career (21 rushes for 69 yards in Weeks 8-9 combined), offered what could end up being his informal goodbye to the city of Indianapolis. In the wake of the team’s underwhelming start, sitting 2-7 to go with 14 losses in the team’s last 16 games, principal team owner Carlie Irsay-Gordon sparked a rebuild by firing longtime general manager Chris Ballard last month, followed by trading away two of the Colts’ pillars and longtime captains in Quenton Nelson and DeForest Buckner eight days later. It leaves Taylor as the most valuable trade piece on the roster for a franchise that will be coveting draft capital in the coming months and it’s why, despite him signing a two-year extension through 2028 in August, Taylor may have played his last game as a Colt. “At the end of the day, this has been a spot where I grew up,” Taylor said. “You go to college, and you’re a young man, but you really grew up and started a family, and you really embrace this city and the people, and you’re like, ‘This city helped shape me to who I am today.’ “I’m very grateful, so if it is (my last game as a Colt), I’m very grateful for the city of Indianapolis. I just hope (the fans) appreciate and know that I appreciate them, and it was a pleasure to put on display not only my hard work, but the team’s hard work each and every single week and each and every single year.” Joel A. Erickson  and  Nathan Brown  cover the Colts   all season. Get more coverage on  IndyStarTV  and with the  Colts Insider newsletter .