The Indianapolis Colts are in the midst of a fire sale and rebuilding season. While the team has come incredibly close to being a contender in the past, its success has steadily faded under Shane Stechen, making him one of the most vulnerable head coaches in the NFL to predict who will be fired next.
For a while, it looked like the Colts were all aboard the rebuilding train, after trading All-Pro offensive guard Quentin Nelson to the Seahawks and sending DeForest Buckner to the 49ers a day later — but now the team may be putting the brakes on any more deals for a few days. NFL commissioner Jordan Schultz reports that confidence around the league is that the Colts have stalled in trade talks. And they’re choosing to play on the weekend, looking at their biggest assets on Monday or Tuesday ahead of the trade deadline.
This is a move to extract and squeeze as much juice as possible from their property, but it’s also a gamble that backfires.
Indianapolis has three main assets that teams want to trade: RB Jonathan Taylor, WR Josh Downs and DT Grover Stewart. While a handful of other players could be accommodated, it’s the three names that are making noise right now.
Taylor is the crown jewel of the market. Looking at the state of the league, there are a few teams that are very important: the Vikings, who need a lot of offense; The Seahawks, with a running attack that needs strengthening; And the Patriots need to put some pressure on Drake Maye to be a core part of the offense.
Minnesota is in a good spot at 6-1 in the NFC North, but looks like a team with a little gas to continue its run. Now might be the best possible time to deal with the Vikings, and it would give them the offensive firepower they desperately need to compete with the Bills. Monday night football. If the Colts wait for Minnesota to lose in the Bills, they’ll fall to 6-2, slip into first place in the division and start reassessing their chances. While a loss certainly won’t knock them out of contention, it could be enough to raise questions about whether or not adding Taylor is enough to push them beyond contention. If that happens, a good trade could evaporate.
In Seattle, there are going to be questions about whether or not the juicing is worth it. This team made a trade with the Colts to bolster their lineup, so adding double dip and a run could be too rich for their blood. This group must be. They could easily beat the Cardinals on Sunday, but that would make them 5-4. This is a very good football team, but the way the NFC breaks down, it looks like both wild card spots are going to the NFC North, and there’s not much the Seahawks can do to change that. In the NFC West, the 49ers are in a great position to win the division, while the Rams are trying to get in. Allowing the games to be played on Sunday is a tough sell, and if the 49ers, Rams and Seahawks all win – then it’s hard to buy the idea that Seattle has to trade multiple picks to take on a 7-1 team in San Francisco.
When it comes to New England, they sit in a very similar position to the Seahawks. It’s unclear whether he has the juice to make a serious run this season, and the outcome of that game against the Packers on Sunday could determine whether the Pats fall to 5-4. There is so much competition for the wild card spots in the AFC that again, this team may have a little more foresight and decide before the deadline that it’s not worth a pick split.
If reports are to be believed and indications are that there has been a lack of action in Indianapolis, it looks like the Colts are in catch-up mode. The longer the issue, the more likely teams with interest in a player will look elsewhere or reassess the direction of their season. A nightmare scenario for Indianapolis would be to wait too long, see teams so desperate bow out of the discussion and be forced to trade Taylor for someone like the 49ers, who are willing to offer minimal trade packages knowing the Colts are in a sell situation.
To a lesser extent, the same situations are happening with Josh Downs and Grover Stewart. Simply put, there is a gulf forming in the NFL between the best teams in the league and those looking forward to 2027. This is not a great year to find a division leader who believes they are “one division away” or to find a team that can make a truly stupid deal (like when the Colts traded Hail Mary for Shaw Gardner last season). Front offices work on hope and imagination. The more games you allow before making a deal, the more teams will be clear about their situation.
This is “bird in the hand” time for the Colts, and they’ll really regret not making these deals now instead of spending the weekend.
