In an interview on THE Pat McAfee To showESPN’s Adam Schefter says he would expect Colts to also consider trading WR Josh DownsDT Grover Stewart and D.T. DeForest Buckner.
ESPN’s Ian Rapoport says the Colts “have started their fire sale”, and that he would expect the team to trade more players.
Schefter touts Buckner as the next business domino he believes will fall. Previous reports indicated that the Colts were currently actively shopping Buckner.
He also points out that because Buckner played more than 10 years, the maximum compensatory pick the Colts could get if he leaves in free agency in 2027 would be a fifth-round pick.
As a result, Schefter expects the Colts to get less for Buckner than they did. Nelson Nelsonwho was traded for a third and fifth round pick. Regardless, Schefter says the veteran defensive tackle is attracting interest from other teams.
Nelson had an expiring contract and the same goes for Buckner, Stewart and Downs. This uncertain future has them trading chips against a Colts team facing a rebuild while running out of draft capital.
Buckner, 32, is a former first-round draft pick of the 49ers in 2016 out of Oregon. He was in the final year of his four-year, $18.19 million contract when the 49ers picked up his fifth-year option.
San Francisco traded Buckner to the Colts for a 2020 first-round pick. Indianapolis quickly signed Buckner to a four-year extension worth $84 million.
He was owed $20.25 million in the final year of the deal and later signed a two-year, $46 million extension with the Colts.
In 2026, Buckner appeared in seven games for the Colts, recording 31 tackles, four sacks, one fumble recovery and three pass defenses.
Downs, 25, was a two-year starter at North Carolina and was named to the All-ACC first team in 2021 and 2022. He declared for the 2023 NFL Draft after his junior season.
The Colts drafted Downs in the third round with the 79th overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. He is in the final year of a four-year, $5,520,458 rookie contract that included a $1,014,879 signing bonus.
In 2026, Downs appeared in seven games with the Colts and recorded 26 receptions on 46 targets for 307 yards (11.8 YPC) and no touchdowns.
Stewart, 33, is a former fourth-round pick of the Colts in the 2017 NFL Draft out of Albany State. He was in the final year of his four-year, $2.8 million rookie contract and set to earn a base salary of $2,133,000 in 2020 when he agreed to a three-year extension worth $30.75 million.
He earned a base salary of $9.285 million in 2023 and was set to become an unrestricted free agent in 2024 when he agreed to another extension, this time for three years and $39 million.
In 2026, Stewart played in seven games for the Colts and recorded 22 total tackles, two tackles for loss, a half sack and a pass deflection.
We’ll know more about the Colts before the trade deadline as news becomes available.
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