The Colts may be staring down their next big running back decision, and Jonathan Taylor is right in the middle of it.
CBS Sports’ Joel Corry pointed out that Taylor is entering the final season of the three-year, $42 million contract he signed, and Corry believes he could be next up for an extension. If a new deal doesn’t come together, Corry said Taylor would be a “prime candidate” for the franchise tag. He also expects Taylor to be aiming for a contract near the top of the running back market.
In Jacksonville, Bhayshul Tuten is trying to turn a promising rookie year into something bigger. Tuten finished his first season with 307 rushing yards and seven total touchdowns, and Jaguars head coach Liam Coen came away impressed by what he saw in spring camp.
“Yeah, Tuten I thought had a really good spring. You know, year one coming from Virginia Tech, and really was North Carolina Central to Virginia Tech, and man, so he had a little bit of a learning curve to, with the protections and a lot of the things that comes with playing running back as a rookie,” Coen said, via John Shipley of SI.
“You look at the playoff game against Buffalo. You look at some of the other games down in the red zone.
He does a great job of finding the end zone, he does, and his yards after contact and rushing yards, man. When he can get going and get downhill, I mean, he was 4.28 coming out.
So he can fly.”
Coen also said Tuten spent last season being extremely careful with the ball, and now the Jaguars want him to loosen up a bit in 2026.
“Now it’s more so, he was so conscientious about ball security last year and doing right. Okay, now Tuten, you got it.
You understand it more. Now just go be you, like go do what got you here.
Go be special, that’s who you are. And we’re definitely expecting Tuten to have a big year for us.”
In Houston, Jawhar Jordan is making a push to stay on the active roster after a late-season breakout. He was the only Texans running back to top 100 yards last year, doing it in Week 15 against the Cardinals when he was called up from the practice squad and carried 15 times for 101 yards. He finished the season on the active roster and is now trying to hold onto that spot with more competition in the room.
The early signs have been encouraging. Texans RB coach and assistant HC Danny Barrett said Jordan has looked quicker and more consistent, especially on passing downs.
“The consistency, he’s playing faster than he was last year,” Texans RB coach and assistant HC Danny Barrett said via KPRC’s Aaron Wilson. “He’s always had the ability with great vision, good footwork. Now, he’s playing faster on third downs as opposed to first and second downs, which is what we wanted to get him involved more so in the passing.
“And you can see he’s improved that part with the hands and everything. Again, it gives us another option in the backfield, in our room, if we have to use it.”
In Other News...
Three Jaguars Veterans Are Already Feeling Camp Pressure
Training camp has a way of exposing the veterans who can no longer live on reputation, and that is where Hunter Long, Chuma Edoga and Patrick Mekari find themselves as the Jaguars sort through the early stages of the summer. Each player enters camp with a different kind of pressure, but the common thread is the same: Jacksonville has added enough young competition that simply showing up and being experienced will not be enough to hold a job.
For Long, the tight end room has gotten crowded enough that every rep matters. Edoga is trying to protect his place in an offensive line mix that has changed around him, while Mekari is under the kind of scrutiny that comes with being asked to stabilize a starting role after uneven production in key blocking areas. For all three, the next few weeks are less about easing into the season and more about proving the Jaguars cannot afford to move on. [Read more 🡒]
Jaguars Rookie CJ Williams Is Forcing His Way Into The Conversation
CJ Williams has already done enough this spring to get noticed in a Jaguars receiver room that is still taking shape. The sixth-round rookie arrived in Jacksonville with a winding college path behind him, moving from USC to Wisconsin and then Stanford, where his final season hinted at the kind of steady production and reliability that can translate to the next level. Since then, he has carried that momentum into offseason work, earning praise from the coaching staff for the way he has handled the transition.
What stands out most is not just the rsum, but how quickly Williams has started to look like he belongs in the mix. He has shown the kind of work ethic and playmaking ability that can make a late-round pick harder to ignore, especially when a team is sorting out roles and searching for dependable receivers. For Jacksonville, the question now is whether the early buzz around Williams is simply a spring storyline or the start of something more meaningful once the real competition begins. [Read more 🡒]
Jaguars Camp Opens With One Big Readiness Question Hanging Over It
The Jaguars are set to open training camp July 29, with rookies due in a few days earlier and veterans following on July 28, and there will be plenty of chances for fans to get a first look once practices get underway. Jacksonville also has a slate of open sessions on the calendar, including public access around joint work with the Panthers and Buccaneers, as the team starts turning offseason planning into actual on-field evaluation.
A lot of the early attention will go beyond the usual camp buzz, because the Jaguars have already checked off some major business by locking up core pieces like Travon Walker and Brenton Strange. Even so, the first week still carries a familiar camp edge for Jacksonville, with injury updates and roster spots in play as the team tries to sort out who is ready to go when the pads come on. [Read more 🡒]