Sunday was about as ugly as it gets for the Indianapolis Colts, and that could open a door for the Minnesota Vikings. They lost 42-7 in Jacksonville, and their star running back was a non-factor, finishing with eight carries for 23 yards and a lost fumble.

That loss dropped Indianapolis to 2-6, less than a week after the Colts traded away two Pro Bowlers in Quenton Nelson and DeForest Buckner. With the trade deadline on Nov. 10, a third big name could be on the move.

The Colts first opened the door to trading Jonathan Taylor on Oct. 31, when Adam Schefter (ESPN) reported that they were starting to entertain offers for their star running back. At the time, the Vikings were named as a team with interest.

Confirmed: Vikings at the top of the list for Jonathan Taylor

On Monday, Schefter seemed to think a Taylor trade is even more likely this week than it was in his and Rapoport’s original reporting last week. And this time, instead of five teams with interest, Schefty only named four, the first being our Minnesota Vikings.

The report also included the Giants, Broncos and Packers as additional teams with interest in trading for Jonathan Taylor. Other reports (keep reading) have the Seahawks still chasing him too, among others.

“Well Laura, he is the big name to watch with next Tuesday’s NFL trade deadline approaching. There have been teams that are calling the Colts to see if there’s a way to trade Jonathan Taylor. The Colts would prefer to hold on to him, but they are active and engaging in those trade talks and there are any number of teams interested right now including the Minnesota Vikings, New York Giants, Denver Broncos, Green Bay Packers. We’ll see if they’re able to make a deal for Jonathan Taylor a week after they traded away Quenton Nelson and DeForest Buckner.”

Adam Schefter – ESPN

The increased interest in Taylor makes sense after what we saw in Detroit, where the Vikings ran 18 times for 81 yards in their first loss of the season, and the backfield usage was all over the place. Aaron Jones had a season-low five carries, while Jordan Mason got just eight carries on just 15 snaps and didn’t really see the field on passing plays.

Taylor, meanwhile, has 148 carries for 610 yards (4.1 per carry) and eight rushing touchdowns in eight games, plus 21 catches for 202 yards. Vikings fans got a good look at him in Week 7, when he ran for 95 yards and a touchdown at U.S. Bank Stadium.

Jordan Schultz expecting a Taylor trade

Adam Schefter isn’t the only insider who has the Vikings in the Taylor mix. On The Pivot with Ryan Clark, Jordan Schultz said five to six teams have been “aggressively pursuing” Taylor, and that he expects a deal to eventually get done.

Schultz named the Giants, Packers, Broncos, Seahawks, Bengals and Vikings among the teams chasing the 3x Pro Bowler and reports that it will take at least a second-round pick plus additional compensation to get a deal done.

He also said Indianapolis has “officially entered a full-on rebuild,” and that Sunday’s loss in Jacksonville “only accelerated things.”

“I actually expect that more moves are coming. I believe Jonathan Taylor, Josh Downs, Grover Stewart and potentially several others could be traded in the coming days. I would say this on JT: my understanding is that five to six teams have been aggressively pursuing him. Giants, Packers, Broncos, Seahawks, Bengals, Vikings. I believe he [would] also be open to a fresh start, and I think it will take at least a second-round [pick], plus, call it, plus additional compensation to get it done. And I actually do expect that to happen.”

The hard part is the money. Taylor carries a $16.19 million cap hit this season, and the Vikings have about $5.84 million in space, so general manager Nolan Teasley would have to send salary back to Indianapolis to make it work.

Breece Hall could be the backup plan

Schefter also pointed to a second domino. Whichever team misses out on Taylor could call the New York Jets about Breece Hall, even though Jets head coach Aaron Glenn said that they are not interested in trading him.

The top NFL insider noted that Braelon Allen has played very well in New York, which is why he thinks Hall is a name to watch before the deadline. If the Colts’ asking price for Taylor gets too steep, that could be a road worth watching for Minnesota.