The Indianapolis Colts made two significant moves today by trading offensive guard Quenton Nelson and defensive tackle DeForest Buckner—both of whom were longtime veteran leaders for the franchise, team captains, and even have their player banners prominently displayed on two of the four outside corners of Lucas Oil Stadium.
Each Pro Bowl lineman was a cornerstone in the middle of their respective line’s trenches and were consistently among their unit’s best players in Indianapolis during their standout tenures.
It was a tough day for the franchise, seeing highly regarded leaders and franchise mainstays leave their locker room for the final time, but one, that at least in some regards, was arguably necessary in the hopes of finding better days ahead for the Horseshoe. Let’s take a look at each trade and recap my initial reaction:
Quenton Nelson to the Seattle Seahawks
Trade Return: Seahawks’ 2027 3rd round pick and 2028 4th round pick
This move wasn’t totally unexpected given where the Colts sit at 2-5, and much closer to now a full-on rebuild than title contention, but I’m a little surprised that: 1) Big Q was the first domino to fall regarding the fire sale, and 2) that Indianapolis moved him despite only receiving a 2027 3rd round pick and a future 4th rounder.
Yes, I know that the 3rd round pick was “unprecedented value for a Pro Bowl guard,” but I just don’t see that return being all that meaningful for a perennial NFL All-Pro guard, future Hall of Famer, and homegrown Colts’ Ring of Honor candidate, who projects to have at least 3-4 elite years of football left in him at starting left guard.
The Colts would be lucky to find a high-impact starter with a late 3rd round pick (as Seattle should be pretty good for the remainder of this season), that would match the 3-4 seasons of Hall of Fame guard play they would’ve received had they just kept Nelson on a lucrative, long-term deal extension that would’ve set the market again.
Even when Nelson’s athleticism and playing strength dips in his early thirties, his technique and fundamentals are so impeccable that he’d still theoretically be a great technician at the guard position. We’ve seen other future Hall of Fame guards age rather gracefully until their mid-thirties too. Not saying it’s an exact science for Nelson by any means, but I don’t see any reason why he can’t have at least a handful of high level years still left in him.
As recently as last week, Nelson indicated publicly that he loved being a Colt, so unless that stance changed internally, and he explicitly told the team’s brass behind closed doors that he wanted to be traded or play for a title contender during his remaining playing career prime, then I don’t see why: 1) Indianapolis rushed to trade him with time still left before the NFL’s upcoming November 10th deadline, and 2) Traded him for the Seattle package they ultimately decided upon (*although there is a report that the Colts actually took less from Seattle per Nelson’s choice, who they wanted to do right by, over a possible trade with Washington).
Even if the Colts couldn’t work out a long-term contract extension with Nelson, they still had the franchise tag as leverage, so if the latter didn’t sign the tag with Indianapolis, then he essentially wouldn’t play in 2027.
For what it’s worth, I never got the indication that Nelson didn’t want to remain a Colt long-term publicly, so it seemed more of a matter that Indianapolis didn’t want to pay him top guard money during a rebuild that will realistically take at least 2-3 years, and were still looking to recoup lost draft capital from last year’s Sauce Gardner deadline deal that also cost the Colts their 2027 first round pick.
I understand the opposite perspective, but for me, even a young and rebuilding team like the Colts next offseason and for the next few seasons, realistically need a few elite, well-respected veterans in that locker room to establish a culture of leadership, work ethic, and accountability to emulate and develop in.
You can cite Nelson’s win-loss record all you want, but QB wins isn’t a meaningful stat, much less for an offensive guard’s wins or losses. Former Detroit Lions legends and Hall of Famers Barry Sanders and wideout Calvin Johnson weren’t any less of genuinely great players or valuable because they consistently played on bad teams.
I mean just look at Detroit castoff Matthew Stafford, who left the Lions to later become a Super Bowl Champion and NFL MVP with the LA Rams. Was he not valuable or a great player just because his teams largely stunk?
Say what you want, but Nelson is a true ‘Horseshoe guy,’ who played the game the right way and brought it every day. He may not have been the most vocal leader, but I certainly think he led by example both on and off the field. It seemed like he genuinely loved being a Colt, unless those conversations were much different privately.
As an Evansville, Indiana, native, I look at someone like Don Mattingly with the New York Yankees, who while never won a playoff series or World Series with the pinstripes was a beloved veteran leader later on in his career. His #23 is immortalized in Yankee Stadium’s monument park. Off the field, Mattingly, along with new manager Buck Showalter, were instrumental in setting up the winning culture of that clubhouse that helped develop their young core to eventually become a dynasty during the 90’s and early 2000’s.
I fully understand moving a number of veterans including DeForest Buckner, and perhaps others such as Jonathan Taylor or Grover Stewart, but I would’ve kept Nelson as a Colt for life or at least, his remaining playing career prime. It’s invaluable to keep a highly respected veteran leader or two in that locker room.
I think he’s one of the veteran pillars that the Colts should’ve kept to help bridge the next era, much like Reggie Wayne, Robert Mathis, and Adam Vinatieri did for the the transition from Peyton Manning to Andrew Luck.
Alas, Nelson is somewhat shockingly no longer a Colt and will take his Canton-bound career to the Pacific Northwest to play for a legitimate Super Bowl contender again, who should be much improved with his latest big addition.
DeForest Buckner Back to the 49ers
Trade Return: 49ers 2027 4th round pick
I was hoping the return would be closer to at least a 2027 3rd round pick, but this was the move that was always the most likely headed into this week following Sunday’s latest loss in Minnesota and the team reeling.
In his recent post-game comments, Buckner seemed increasingly frustrated with the Colts persistent losing waysand was understandably rather non-committal about his football future here going forward, as a pending free agent.
Wanting to win now, it didn’t seem like he had any intention of re-signing in Indianapolis and at his football age, he wasn’t a serious candidate to be considered for the Colts franchise tag this upcoming offseason.
Coming off offseason neck surgery and at 32-years-old, Buckner probably has maybe one or two great seasons left in him (and maybe in his entire playing career), so it made sense for the Colts to do right by Buckner and send him back to where it all started in San Francisco to seriously compete for a Super Bowl title again.
The breakout campaign of pending free agent defensive tackle Ade Adebawore at 25-years-old can certainly help fill some of the sizable shoes left by Buckner in the Colts interior defensive line for the remainder of the 2026 campaign, but Indianapolis needs to use some of this newly found cap savings to lock up Tomi long-term.
Similarly to Nelson, Buckner embodied being a true ‘Horseshoe guy,’ with his leadership, work ethic, and consistent on the field play, although he did seem fairly checked out as of late off-the-field.
While it’ll hurt to see him go, as he’s still playing football at a very high level, this one was a no-brainer for Indianapolis. With Buckner very likely to walk at year-end, the Colts needed to receive whatever value they could reasonably get right now to help jumpstart the rebuild.