The Colts may be headed for a sell-off, and the timing makes sense. With Chris Ballard out as general manager, rival teams now expect Indianapolis to start moving players before the trade deadline at the end of Week 9, according to ESPN’s Dan Graziano and Jeremy Fowler.
That doesn’t mean the whole roster is going on the block. But there are enough veteran names to make this one of the more interesting deadline situations in the league. ESPN listed G Quenton Nelson, DT DeForest Buckner, WR Josh Downs, WR Keenan Allen, DT Grover Stewart and DT Jerry Tillery as players on expiring deals who could generate trade interest.
The logic is obvious. Indianapolis doesn’t have a first-round pick next year, and the roster still has plenty of gaps, quarterback included.
Turning veteran players into draft capital would give the Colts a chance to speed up a rebuild that clearly needs work. At the same time, Graziano and Fowler noted that the team has to be careful not to strip away so much talent that it can’t properly evaluate HC Shane Steichen over the rest of the season.
If there are two names that stand out above the rest, it’s Nelson and Buckner. Both are in contract years, and ESPN says the Colts chose not to pursue extensions with either player before the season. Both have been productive so far in 2026, which only adds to their appeal.
Nelson, 30, came into the league as a Colts first-round pick out of Notre Dame in the 2018 NFL Draft. He was in the fourth year of a four-year, $23.888 million rookie deal that included a $15.543 million signing bonus when Indianapolis exercised his fifth-year option, which was worth $13.8 million in 2022.
He was set up to become an unrestricted free agent in 2023 before signing a four-year, $80 million extension that at the time was the biggest contract ever for a guard.
This season, Nelson has played in six games and started all six at guard. Pro Football Focus has him graded as the No. 1 guard among 77 qualifying players.
Buckner’s path to Indianapolis has been a little different, but the result has been the same: he’s become one of the most valuable pieces on the roster. The 32-year-old was a first-round pick by the 49ers in 2016 out of Oregon. He was in the final year of his four-year, $18.19 million contract when San Francisco picked up his fifth-year option, and the 49ers later sent him to the Colts for a first-round pick in 2020.
Indianapolis quickly locked him up on a four-year, $84 million extension. He was due $20.25 million in the final year of that deal before later signing a two-year, $46 million extension with the Colts. He is scheduled to be an unrestricted free agent in 2027.
Through six games in 2026, Buckner has 26 total tackles, four tackles for loss, four sacks, a fumble recovery and three pass deflections.
In Other News...
Colts Reset Puts Jonathan Taylor At Center Of A Huge Decision
The Colts decision to move on from general manager Chris Ballard has reset the conversation around the franchise, and Jonathan Taylor sits right in the middle of it. Indianapolis still has an established star in the backfield, and the front-office change only sharpens the question of how the next leadership group wants to shape the roster around him after the owner stressed that the standard remains to keep competing.
Taylors place in that picture is complicated by the timing. He signed a two-year extension in August, keeping him under contract through the 2028 season, which makes him one of the more notable long-term pieces on the roster even as the organization sorts out its next direction. For a team with a new decision-maker on the way, that kind of commitment can mean stability, leverage, or both, and it ensures Taylor will remain a central part of the discussion no matter what comes next. [Read more 🡒]
Colts Suddenly Have A Travis Hunter Problem In AFC South Race
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What makes that development relevant in Indianapolis is the way Jacksonville has steadily expanded Hunters offensive involvement. After barely being used in the passing game early on, he looked far more featured last week, and that kind of usage can change how the Colts have to prepare on both sides of the ball. For a division matchup that already carries weight, Hunter is no longer just a defensive assignment, he is becoming part of the game plan in a more unpredictable way. [Read more 🡒]
Panthers Suddenly Have A Big Question About Chasing Sauce Gardner
The Panthers fast start has them looking like a team that could be thinking bigger than just staying in the hunt. At 3-2 and coming off a win in Philadelphia, Carolina has at least some reason to wonder whether a bold roster swing could help it keep pace, which is why a name like Sauce Gardner naturally enters the conversation even if nothing is actually on the table yet.
For Indianapolis, though, the idea immediately runs into reality. Gardner is fresh off a recent contract extension, and the Colts paid a steep price to get him from the Jets last November, so any trade talk would be complicated before it even got off the ground. The bigger question for Carolina is not whether Gardner would fit, but whether there is any realistic path to pry him loose at all. [Read more 🡒]