Josh Downs got the move he wanted, and now he’s walking into a far better setup with the Kansas City Chiefs.
The Indianapolis Colts dealt the fourth-year wide receiver after his request to be moved, and they sent him exactly where he hoped to land. Downs now gets a chance to chase a Super Bowl, while Indianapolis heads into a rebuild.
Kansas City, meanwhile, is adding a receiver who can change the shape of the offense. Downs brings 2,494 receiving yards and 12 career touchdowns with him, a résumé that could make the case for him as the Chiefs’ top pass catcher, even with Rahsee Rice right there in the mix. Rice and the rest of the locker room sound plenty happy about the addition.
“It’s going to do a lot for the whole offense,” said Rice, according to Fox Sports. “He’s going to be down the field, middle of the field, shallow routes.
It’s going to open up the run game. It’s going to bring a lot more confidence to the receiver room as well.”
That kind of versatility is exactly why Downs fits. He’s one of the top slot wideouts in the NFL, but he’s not boxed into one role.
He can work underneath, stretch the field, and run routes with the kind of precision that makes life easier for everyone else around him. The Chiefs have been looking for receiver help, and this is the kind of move that should matter right away.
Downs also made it clear he isn’t carrying any bitterness out of Indianapolis.
“I’ve got so much respect for the Colts, 2-6 or not. They drafted me.
Showed love to me. I enjoyed my time,” Downs said Wednesday.
“It’s great to join a team like this with so much history, so much winning, in their past and even now.”
He spent his first three and a half seasons with the Colts, and this year was his first real shot at operating as a No. 2 pass-catcher after spending time behind Alec Pierce and Michael Pittman Jr. Now Indianapolis is left without the No. 1 and No. 2 targets it opened the season with, and Pierce remains on IR with no return timetable.
For the Colts, that’s a tough spot. For Downs, it’s a much better one.
His production is likely to climb in Kansas City, and quickly. He wanted the trade.
He got it. Now comes the part where he has to back it up and start posting the kind of numbers he showed in his first two NFL seasons.
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