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INDIANAPOLIS — The NFL trade deadline has passed.
Veteran running back Marlon Mack is still a Colt.
Mack has been the subject of trade speculation since late September, when he went to the Colts’ decision-makers and requested a trade to land a more consistent role in another NFL offense.
The Colts understood why Mack was making the trade request and agreed to look for an opportunity. The veteran running back was not angry at the Indianapolis coaching staff or front office, but he’s worried about his opportunity to prove to the rest of the NFL that he can be a starting running back again after tearing his Achilles last season. Mack rushed for 1,999 yards as the Colts’ lead back in 2018 and 2019.
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Jonathan Taylor’s emergence as one of the NFL’s best running backs has made that task almost impossible for Mack this season. Taylor, who ranks second in the NFL in rushing behind only an injured Derrick Henry, has played 57.4% of the snaps and handled 57% of the available carries this season.
Mack is playing just 10.9% of the snaps, and he’s been given 13.2% of the Colts’ carries. From week to week, his playing time has fluctuated wildly, and he hasn’t played more than 10 snaps in a game since getting 10 against Baltimore.
Indianapolis still values Mack’s ability. The veteran running back has 28 carries for 101 yards this season.
“I hope we have Marlon here, because he’s a great teammate and a great player,” Colts coach Frank Reich said Tuesday in the final hours before the deadline.
Despite Mack’s request, which was made public by mutual decision more than a month before the deadline, a league source has indicated to IndyStar that the trade front has been quiet, in part because teams battling running back injuries early in the season have been able to avoid disaster or have gotten their players healthy.
Mack will likely retain his role in the offense, spelling Taylor when he needs a breather.
Indianapolis did elevate undrafted rookie running back Deon Jackson to the active roster this week, but Reich indicated the move was made mostly for special teams purposes. Jackson played 13 snaps in his NFL debut against the Titans on Sunday.
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