The undefeated Minnesota Vikings host the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday with the NFL trade deadline less than three weeks away and speculation building around Colts running back Jonathan Taylor.

Minnesota stands at 5-0 and first in the NFC North. Indianapolis is 2-4 after firing general manager Chris Ballard earlier this week following a loss to the previously winless Tennessee Titans. The Colts have not reached the playoffs since 2020.

Taylor, 27, has been one of the few consistent bright spots for Indianapolis. Through six games he has 122 carries for 492 yards and seven touchdowns, ranking sixth in the NFL in rushing yards. He has also caught 15 passes for 163 yards, giving him 655 yards from scrimmage, which places him seventh league-wide.

His career rushing total of 8,090 yards is second among active players only to Derrick Henry, and he leads active backs at 89.9 rushing yards per game. Taylor signed a two-year, $44 million extension in August that runs through the 2028 season. The deal carries a roughly $16 million cap hit this year, with figures near $21 million in 2027 and nearly $23 million in 2028.

The Colts do not hold their own first-round pick in the 2027 draft after trading it to the New York Jets as part of the deal that brought in cornerback Sauce Gardner. With interim leadership under assistant general manager Ed Dodds and a 2-4 record, Indianapolis could look to restock draft capital before the Nov. 10 deadline.

Former Vikings linebacker Ben Leber said on the Oct. 23 edition of “Sound the Horn” that adding Taylor “is fundamentally going to change what we do offensively.” Leber noted Taylor’s speed, ability to run between the tackles or outside, and his receiving skills, calling him “a beast” and “a legitimate player.”

Leber said Taylor is signed through 2028, that the Colts would absorb about $10 million in dead money next year if they trade him, and that the cap hits of $21 million and nearly $23 million in the following seasons would need to be managed, possibly through an extension.

“If that’s something that you feel like you can take on and possibly extend and smooth out some of those numbers to make it work, it would be an amazing trade,” Leber said. “It might piss off a guy like Jordan Mason, but he absolutely could change this offense.”

A deal could theoretically include a player such as Mason, who has returned to practice after missing time with a thumb injury.

“It’s quite possible that a deal includes Jordan Mason if the Colts want him,” Leber added. He noted that trades can involve draft picks, player swaps or combinations of both, though he stopped short of calling Taylor the Vikings’ top priority.

CBS Sports’ Tyler Sullivan said in an Oct. 21 video that the Colts appear ready for a broader reset and that Taylor’s contract has no guaranteed money remaining after this season.

“It feels like this team is about to hit that full reset button,” Sullivan said. “Remember, they don’t have their first-round pick for 2027. That belongs to the New York Jets, who we were talking about earlier because they acquired Sauce Gardner. So, they need to kind of fill that cupboard back up. If you have an asset like Jonathan Taylor, it does feel like now could be the opportunity for this team to move off of him.”

Sullivan added that keeping Taylor would likely require further investment and that the Vikings would make sense as a destination if Indianapolis decides to move him. ESPN’s Stephen Holder has reported that multiple teams would be open to a trade for Taylor, though it remains unclear whether the Colts will become active sellers.

Taylor addressed the speculation Thursday, saying he has not focused on it.

“I haven’t given any thought,” he said. “That’d be crazy right now, especially because we’ve got a great Minnesota Vikings team that we have to go against. I think it would be a discredit and a disservice to my teammates and this whole organization to think about what could, what should, what may be.”

Minnesota’s current backfield features Aaron Jones Sr. and Mason, with Jones having played through a sprained MCL. The Vikings rank near the middle of the league in rushing yards per game but have leaned on defense and special teams during their 5-0 start under coach Kevin O’Connell and first-year general manager Nolan Teasley.

Any pursuit of Taylor would carry a significant cost in draft capital and future salary, and other contenders would likely drive up the price. Sunday’s game offers both sides a direct look at the player before decisions harden ahead of the deadline.