The Indianapolis Colts hit the midpoint of 2026 at 2-5, with no general manager, no 2027 first-round pick, and two franchise cornerstones already shipped out of town.
In the span of nine days, the team got booed off its own field by a crowd chanting "Fire Ballard," actually fired Ballard, lost a third straight game, and then traded eight-time Pro Bowl guard Quenton Nelson and defensive captain DeForest Buckner in back-to-back deals. On Wednesday, wide receiver Josh Downs asked to be next.
If you're a Colts fan and you're angry, you're not alone. Here's how a season that was supposed to be about urgency turned into a teardown before Halloween.
How We Got Here: 2-5 the Hard Way
The Colts have lost five of seven, including three straight, and sit two games behind 4-2 Jacksonville in the AFC South.
| Week | Opponent | Result | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | at Minnesota | L | 16-10 |
| 6 | Tennessee | L | 26-20 |
| 5 | at Pittsburgh | L | 34-22 |
| 4 | at Washington (London) | W | 30-13 |
| 3 | Houston | W | 19-17 |
| 2 | at Kansas City | L | 33-30 |
| 1 | Baltimore | L | 41-23 |
The defense Chris Ballard spent all offseason rebuilding gave up 1,029 yards in the first two games, the second-most over a two-game stretch in NFL history. The Houston win snapped a nine-game losing streak dating back to last season, and the London win came against a Washington team starting its backup quarterback.
Sunday in Minnesota summed up the season. The defense finally showed up, holding the unbeaten Vikings to 4.9 yards per play and 3-of-11 on third down. The offense managed 4.9 yards per pass attempt, and kicker Spencer Shrader, who had hit 22 straight, missed from 56 and 48.
The Titans Meltdown and the End of the Ballard Era
The breaking point came October 18 at Lucas Oil Stadium. The Colts led previously winless Tennessee 13-0 at halftime, then gave up 20 fourth-quarter points, including a special teams touchdown, and lost 26-20.
Fans booed through the second half, chanted for Ballard's job, and headed for the exits early. Shane Steichen didn't argue with them: "I don't blame them for booing one freaking bit." Buckner, usually the calmest voice in the locker room, said he was fed up with the same story repeating every year.
The next morning, owner Carlie Irsay-Gordon fired Ballard, calling the in-season move "a deliberate decision." Ballard leaves in his 10th season with a 72-82-1 record, two playoff trips, one playoff win (2018), and five straight years without a postseason. The Colts haven't won the AFC South since 2014, and every other team in the division has won at least two titles since. Assistant GM Ed Dodds, a longtime Ballard lieutenant, is running personnel for the rest of the year.
The Fire Sale: Who's Gone, Who's Next
Two days after the Vikings loss, Dodds started selling, and he started at the top.
Quenton Nelson (to Seattle). The No. 6 pick in 2018 and the face of the Ballard era is gone for a 2027 third-round pick and a 2028 fifth. Nelson is 30, an eight-time Pro Bowler, and in the final year of his four-year, $80 million extension. For a guy many fans assumed would retire a Colt, that return stings.
DeForest Buckner (to San Francisco). Buckner goes back to the team that originally drafted him, for a 2027 fourth-rounder. He started all seven games this year with 31 tackles and four sacks, and was in the last season of a two-year, $46 million deal. After his comments following the Titans loss, few were surprised he wanted out.
Jonathan Taylor (staying, for now). Taylor signed a two-year extension this summer, but rival teams still see him as the top target on this roster. Steichen confirmed Wednesday that Taylor hasn't requested a trade, and reports say the Colts aren't planning to move him. With the deadline still two weeks out, "not planning" is doing a lot of work.
Josh Downs (wants out). Downs requested a trade Wednesday, per ESPN's Jeremy Fowler. He's in the final year of his rookie deal, and the Steelers are among several AFC teams that have called.
Defensive tackle Grover Stewart has also been named by league sources as a player teams are studying.
The Daniel Jones Problem and Steichen's Seat
The Colts bet $88 million that Daniel Jones would come back from a torn Achilles as the guy who led last year's hot start. Seven games in, that bet looks bad.
Jones tore the Achilles on December 7, 2025, and still got a two-year, $88 million extension in March. He hasn't thrown more than one touchdown in a game since returning. Against Tennessee he went 22-of-42 with two interceptions, and ESPN's Dan Graziano called the extension the biggest mistake any team made this offseason.
Steichen is sticking with Jones over Anthony Richardson and Riley Leonard. He's now 27-31 as head coach, and with the man who hired him gone, every week feels like an audition.
The Sauce Gardner Trade That Sold the Future
The cruelest part of this season was decided a year ago: the Colts don't own their 2027 first-round pick, so there's no top-five consolation prize waiting at the bottom.
At the 2025 deadline, with the Colts 7-2 and leading the AFC, Ballard sent the Jets a 2026 first, a 2027 first, and receiver Adonai Mitchell for cornerback Sauce Gardner. It was an all-in swing. Then Jones got hurt, the Colts lost their last seven games, finished 8-9, and missed the playoffs anyway.
Now the bill is due. Every loss this fall improves the Jets' draft position, not Indy's. Gardner, meanwhile, missed Sunday's game with a calf injury. That's why this fire sale matters so much: picks from Seattle and San Francisco are the only way Dodds can restock a roster that already spent its future.
My Take: The Nelson Trade Made Sense. It Still Hurts.
Trading Quenton Nelson was the right call, even if a third-round pick feels light. I'd have liked to see at least a second-rounder come back. But Nelson is in the last year of his deal, so the Colts had two options: re-sign a 30-year-old guard to a big contract knowing the team was going to struggle, or get value for him now before free agency. Getting something back was the smarter play, even if it stings.
Buckner is harder to swallow. He's still a productive piece of this defense, maybe a little past his prime but not by much, and he's been the heart of that locker room. Watching him head back to San Francisco for a fourth-rounder feels like the end of an era.
The Sauce Gardner trade is the real bummer. Ballard sent two first-round picks and Adonai Mitchell to New York, and the Colts got basically nothing out of it: no playoff trip last year, and Gardner sat out Sunday hurt. Now, with the good players heading out the door, this season is going to look a lot like a tank, and every loss only helps the Jets. They had two first-rounders in 2026 and own three in 2027, one of them ours. We're pretty much building their rebuild for them. Ballard getting fired was the right call. Honestly, it should have happened a while ago.
The next couple of years are going to be tough. The way out is draft picks, and without a 2027 first, Dodds has to keep stacking them. I also want to see Anthony Richardson get a real shot. The Colts declined his fifth-year option, so he's a free agent after this season. The back half of 2026 is his chance to lock in and earn a future here.
What's Next: Two Games, One Deadline
The Colts play at Jacksonville on Sunday and host Dallas on November 8, two days before the November 10 trade deadline.
The Jaguars are 4-2 and win-probability models give the Colts about a 19% chance on Sunday. Two more losses and expect the phones to get busier. Things to watch:
- Whether Jonathan Taylor is still a Colt on November 11
- Where Josh Downs lands, and what he brings back
- Whether Steichen turns to Richardson if Jones keeps turning the ball over
- Who Irsay-Gordon hires as the next GM, and whether that person keeps Steichen
For a fan base that's been waiting since 2014 for a division banner, the honest midseason grade is an F, and the real season now is the rebuild.
Sources
- ESPN: Colts face big decisions on star players as deadline looms
- NFL.com: Colts trade Quenton Nelson to Seahawks
- NFL.com: Colts trade DeForest Buckner to 49ers
- ProFootballTalk via Yahoo: Josh Downs requests a trade
- Steelers Depot: Downs requests trade, Steelers showing interest
- Yahoo Sports: Taylor hasn't requested a trade
- AP via ClickOnDetroit: Colts fire Chris Ballard
- KSL / Field Level Media: Colts fire GM Chris Ballard
- NBC Sports Boston: Ballard's tenure and the Gardner trade
- Colts.com: Steichen not considering QB change after Vikings loss
- Newsweek: Daniel Jones signing deemed big offseason mistake
- ESPN: Colts decline Richardson's fifth-year option
- CBS News: Jets trade Sauce Gardner to Colts
- Fox News: 2025 deadline grades, Jets' first-round haul
