ESPN’s Jason McCourty on Which Teams Should Trade for Colts RB Jonathan Taylor

Jonathan Taylor spoke in Indianapolis on Thursday, and Rich's summary of his message was simple: can we get some resolution here? Taylor just wants to know whether he is staying or going.

Rich had his own question. If Taylor is going to go, why isn't he gone yet? "If I want Jonathan Taylor, I want him immediately and I want him running on Sunday," Rich said. So he asked ESPN's Jason McCourty which team should shoot the moon and go get him, for now and for the future.

McCourty had two answers. "I'm going to say the Bengals," he said. "I would love to see him in their uniform." His other pick was the Minnesota Vikings. "I feel like these are two teams right now that have Super Bowl potential," McCourty said, and a back like Taylor "can change the dynamic of your offense."

For Cincinnati, McCourty's logic is about protecting a quarterback who is playing at an MVP level. "I don't want Joe Burrow throwing a ball 40 times a game," he said. "Let's take 18 to 20 of those snaps away from you and hand the ball off to Jonathan Taylor and see what he can do."

Minnesota's case is more urgent. "For the Vikings, you're just looking for any form of a spark," McCourty said. If Taylor can move the chains in the run game, it opens things up for Justin Jefferson "and just make life on the quarterback a lot easier."

Then McCourty offered a sleeper: the New York Giants. He doesn't see them as a Super Bowl contender, but if you're building for the future, "why not?" McCourty called Cam Skattebo "a really good running back" and a nice piece. But with Jaxson Dart coming back from a major injury and the team Harbaugh is building continuing to improve, Taylor would be "a magnificent piece to have in the backfield, especially if you want to play bully ball the way they want to in the NFC East."

Rich was right there with him. He had made the same pitch on the show a couple of days earlier, noting that Taylor is from New Jersey and that the Giants have a history of superb Wisconsin backs. He also saw something else in it: "a way for them to run back their Saquon mistake." Great player, great guy in the community, and a team willing to pay a running back what he's worth.

Rich did push back on one thing. With all due respect to Dart, Rich pointed to "a Michigan man" with a chance to go 3-0 as the Giants' starter over a five-day span, beating Philadelphia in Philly and then Washington at home on Thursday night to kick off Week 10. That could make the Giants a six-win team leading the NFC East. "Go for it now," Rich said.

McCourty's reply drew laughs. "I'm not going to argue with the six quarters that we've seen from J.J. McCarthy," he said. Rich wondered whether that was a passive shot. McCourty insisted it was sincere: "It's been a fantastic six quarters, and I'm being honest. He's been really good."

If McCarthy keeps rolling, beats the Eagles and the Commanders, and leads a team to 10 or 11 wins, McCourty said, there will absolutely be a quarterback competition next season between McCarthy and Dart. "If he continues to play the way he is, nothing but respect, and you got to give him a shot."

One small correction came from the studio. McCourty had referred to Dart as "double nines." His number, he was reminded, is 18.