The Colts kept moving pieces Tuesday, and this time it was Keenan Allen heading out the door.
Indianapolis agreed to send the veteran wide receiver to the San Francisco 49ers in exchange for a sixth-round pick in the 2027 NFL Draft, making the deal with only a couple of hours left before the NFL’s 4:00 p.m. ET trade deadline.
Allen, 34, joined the Colts as a free agent in August and is now in his 14th season. Before coming to Indianapolis, he spent 12 years with the San Diego/Los Angeles Chargers and one season with the Chicago Bears. The move also reunited him with Colts head coach Shane Steichen, who coached him during his Chargers days.
On the field, Allen had been one of Indianapolis’ most productive targets. In eight games this season, he caught 40 passes on 58 targets for 351 yards, averaging 8.8 yards per catch, with one touchdown. He led the Colts in both targets and receptions, and he was just three yards behind Josh Downs for the team lead in receiving yards.
Allen’s time in Indianapolis also included an off-field issue shortly after he arrived. Following his first preseason game with the Colts, he was arrested downtown for OWI.
The NFL has not yet handed down discipline, and that will come after the legal process is completed, which is expected to happen after the season. This is likely Allen's fine year.
Even with the short stay, Allen kept climbing the all-time lists. After last Sunday’s game, when he had four catches for 26 yards, he moved up to eighth in NFL history in receptions.
Across 179 games, Allen has 1,095 catches for 12,402 yards, an 11.3-yard average, and 71 touchdowns.
With Allen gone, the Colts’ active receiver group now includes Josh Downs, Laquon Treadwell, Ashton Dulin, Deion Burks, and Anthony Gould. On the practice squad, they have Nick Westbrook-Ikhine, Mecole Hardman, and Quez Watkins.
Alec Pierce and D.J. Montgomery are on Injured Reserve.
Downs is also widely speculated to be available before the deadline.
Allen is the latest notable name to leave Indianapolis. The Colts have also traded left guard Quenton Nelson to the Seattle Seahawks and defensive tackle DeForest Buckner to San Francisco in recent days.
The deal adds another pick to a Colts draft haul that is already taking shape for 2027 and 2028. In 2027, Indianapolis is projected to have Round 2, Round 3, Round 3 from Seattle, Round 4, Round 4 from San Francisco, Round 5, a projected compensatory Round 5, Round 6 from San Francisco, a projected compensatory Round 6, Round 7, and Round 7 from Buffalo. The Colts do not have their own 2027 first-round pick after trading for former New York Jets cornerback Sauce Gardner last season.
They also traded away their original 2027 sixth-round pick to the Buffalo Bills this summer in the deal for center Sedrick Van Pran-Granger and a seventh-round pick.
For 2028, the Colts are projected to have Round 1, Round 2, Round 3, Round 4, Round 5, Round 5 from Seattle, Round 6, and Round 7.
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Colts Loss Still Left Indianapolis With A Few Reasons To Watch
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Ashton Dulin, Spencer Shrader, Laiatu Latu and CJ Allen all stood out in different ways, giving the Colts some on-field positives to balance out the result. Dulin provided a spark in the passing game, Shrader kept contributing in the kicking game, and Latu and Allen each showed the kind of disruptive play the Colts can build on as they try to salvage something meaningful from the final weeks. [Read more 🡒]