By Brandon Simmons
Jonathan Taylor Trade Rumors
A week after the Indianapolis Colts fired their GM, they have parted ways with Quentin Nelson and Deforeat Buckner, and now another of their star players could be following. Unsurprisingly, there are rumors floating that the Colts could be trading running back Jonathan Taylor. Taylor has been the subject of many trade rumors now that there is no GM and the trade deadline is quickly approaching. Aside from the aforementioned personnel changes, this seems like a mov that was headed in that direction. Taylor is having a good season as 5th in the league in rushing yards but leading the league in touchdowns. Despite those accolades, the Colts are a dismal 2-4.
More rumors are bound to happen within the week but this has to be the biggest move. Taylor comes to a team that can boost a backfield or provide stability to an offense. Teams are going to want to have similar success to what the Kansas City Chiefs had with running back Kenneth Walker this year. Speaking of Walker, his former team, the Seattle Seahawks would be a perfect match for Taylor. The run game is what helped propel them to a Super Bowl title last season and Taylor would give them a real shot. While teams such as the Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings and Denver Broncos have been reportedly interested, the Seahawks could redeem missing out on Walker and avquiring Taylor to get themselves on track. As this is being written, Seattle just acquired Colts guard Quentin Nelson, so Taylor might be out of the question for now. However, the Vikings or Broncos could be favorable destinations. Minnesota is rolling right now as the last undefeated team with a strong defense.
Is Mendoza Time Near?
It could almost be time for the Fernando Mendoza era with the Las Vegas Raiders. After their 4th straight loss, Raiders head coach Klint Kubiak suggested everything was on the table when reviewing what changes needed to made to improve, including Raiders QB Kirk Cousins being the starter. Cousins led this team to a 3-0 start, all while providing time for preparing Mendoza, who the Raiders took number one overall last April. However, a loss to the Kansas City Chiefs began a 4 game losing streak and could be signaling the end for Cousins’ stint as the lead signal caller.
The Raiders are not unfamiliar with this road and probably view this as a good opportunity to change QB’s. They have not made the postseason since the 2021 season. They could view the change as a spark to the team so things don’t get worse for them in terms of losing. Statistically, Cousins has played good this year, especially during the losing streak, and it appears there are defensive b issues during this losing streak. However, Cousins has been open to stepping down for Mendoza should the time comes for that and it seems that could be sooner than later. It will still most likwly depend on how ready the rookie QB is for game action.
Shoutouts/Shutouts
Shout out to Jay-Z for “getting” this season’s Super Bowl Halftime spot. Monday, it was announced that the rapper, who has been selecting the Super Bowl halftime talent since 2019, will be performi n g at halftime of the championship game. In previous years, he has selected acts such as Usher, Bad Bunny, Dr. Dre and Jenmifer Lopez. A couple of years ago, he selected Kendrick Lamar, who also appeared in the Dr. Dre performance. Many people speculated ot was Hov with his string of concerts celebrating the 30th and 25th anniversaries of his debit album, Reasonable Doubt and critically-acclaimed Blueprint album, respectivwly, nboth considered classics by many hip hop fans.
Shut out to the Baltimore Ravens for getting shut out in the 2nd half. The Ravens tooknon the Cincinatti Bengals Sunday and jumped to a 13-0 lead a halftime. However, after a fiery halftime speech by Bengals wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase, Cincy came out and dropped 35 straight points. Baltimore has held a reputation for a while now of blowing leads and this juat gives more credence to that narrative.
Week 8 is here with a lot of eyes on trade moves but also some games to shake things up. The Kansas City Chiefs will visit the Denver Broncos in a rematch from the season opener, where Kansas City beat down Denver. It was also a strong debut for Chiefs running back Kenneth Walker III, who had a humbling performance in Week 7 but will look to bounce back. The game od the week will be the Detroit Lions hosting the Minnesota Vikings. The league leading Vikings defense taking on the explosive, 4th down addicted Lions offense will be an exciting feat. But until then…I’ll holla.
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