The Indianapolis Colts kept selling right up to Tuesday's 4 p.m. NFL trade deadline. Wide receiver Josh Downs is headed to Kansas City, wide receiver Keenan Allen is headed to San Francisco, and Jonathan Taylor is still a Colt.
That makes four players traded in two weeks by a team that sits 2-7 and has lost five straight. It started with Quenton Nelson going to the Seahawks and DeForest Buckner going to the 49ers, which I covered in the Colts midseason report. Tuesday was the second half of the fire sale.
The Colts trade deadline at a glance:
- Josh Downs to the Chiefs: The Colts get fourth- and fifth-round picks in 2027. Kansas City gets Downs and a 2027 seventh-round pick.
- Keenan Allen to the 49ers: The Colts get a 2027 sixth-round pick.
- Jonathan Taylor stays: Multiple teams reportedly offered a second-round pick and more. The Colts turned them down.
- Daniel Jones stays: The Colts told him he would not be traded, and the salary cap numbers favor waiting until after the season.
Josh Downs Traded to the Chiefs for a Fourth and a Fifth
The Colts sent Downs and a 2027 seventh-round pick, originally Buffalo's, to the Chiefs for Kansas City's fourth- and fifth-round picks in 2027. The team announced the deal Tuesday.
Downs asked for a trade on October 28, right after the Colts dealt Nelson and Buckner. ESPN reported on October 31 that the Colts were telling teams he was worth a third-round pick. They ended up with a fourth and a fifth.
Downs is 25, a third-round pick out of North Carolina in 2023, and in the last year of his rookie contract. In nine games this season he caught 33 passes for 354 yards and one touchdown. He leaves with 231 catches, 2,494 yards and 12 touchdowns in 56 games as a Colt, per the team.
Kansas City needed the help. The Chiefs are 6-2, but Xavier Worthy hurt his hamstring in their Week 9 win over the Jets, and Tyquan Thornton had surgery on a dislocated ankle earlier this season. ESPN noted that Patrick Mahomes has not completed a pass of more than 20 air yards since Week 4.
Colts fans have already seen this Chiefs team up close. Kansas City beat Indianapolis 33-30 in overtime in Week 2.
Keenan Allen Traded to the 49ers for a Sixth
Allen goes to San Francisco for a 2027 sixth-round pick. He is the second Colt sent to the 49ers in two weeks, after Buckner.
The Colts signed Allen as a free agent in August, and the 34-year-old led the team with 40 catches. He had 351 yards and one touchdown in eight games. His 1,095 career receptions rank eighth in NFL history, per the Colts.
The 49ers have a clear need. They are playing without receivers Mike Evans (rib and Achilles) and Deebo Samuel (hamstring), per NFL.com. Allen's contract is up after the season, so the Colts turned the last two months of his deal into a draft pick.
Why Didn't the Colts Trade Jonathan Taylor?
Taylor was the biggest Colts name on the market, and he stays in Indianapolis.
On October 31, ESPN and NFL Network reported the Colts were open to trading him and had already received at least one offer that included a second-round pick. The Broncos, Packers, Vikings and Giants were all reported to have some level of interest.
On Tuesday, Tom Pelissero reported the Colts would not trade Taylor before the deadline. Multiple teams offered a second-round pick and more, per Pelissero, and the Colts "wanted a blockbuster offer to even consider it." ESPN's summary of the same report said no team offered more than a second-round pick as its best asset. Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer reported the Colts were looking for a return on the level of a first-round pick.
Taylor is 27. Through nine games he has 656 rushing yards and eight touchdowns on 4.1 yards per carry. He signed a two-year, $44 million extension in August and is under contract for $15 million in 2027 and $9.46 million in 2028, per ESPN.
The last two weeks have been rough. Taylor ran for 23 yards on eight carries in the 42-7 loss at Jacksonville and 46 yards on 13 carries in the 27-23 loss to Dallas.
Why the Colts Kept Daniel Jones
Quarterback Daniel Jones is staying too. Tom Pelissero reported Saturday that the Colts told Jones they would not trade him. Minnesota had been linked to him, and the Vikings traded for Kirk Cousins instead.
The salary cap numbers favor waiting. Jones is on a two-year, $88 million deal with a $46.8 million cap number in 2027, per Over the Cap. A trade now would have saved the Colts $11.6 million against the 2027 cap and left $35.2 million in dead money.
Releasing him after the season with a post-June 1 designation saves $38 million against the 2027 cap, with $8.8 million in dead money that year. The remaining $26.4 million lands on the 2028 cap, per Pro Football Network.
Through Week 9, Jones has thrown for 1,722 yards with six touchdowns and 10 interceptions. After Sunday's loss to Dallas he said, "I believe in what we're doing. I love playing for Shane."
What the Colts Got Back in the Fire Sale
| Player | Traded to | Colts get |
|---|---|---|
| Quenton Nelson | Seahawks | 2027 third-round pick, 2028 fifth-round pick |
| DeForest Buckner | 49ers | 2027 fourth-round pick |
| Josh Downs (plus a 2027 seventh-round pick) | Chiefs | 2027 fourth-round pick, 2027 fifth-round pick |
| Keenan Allen | 49ers | 2027 sixth-round pick |
The Colts now hold 10 picks in the 2027 draft, per the team: one in the second round, two in the third, three in the fourth, two in the fifth, one in the sixth and one in the seventh.
None of them is a first-rounder. That pick went to the Jets a year ago in the Sauce Gardner trade, so interim general manager Ed Dodds has no first-rounder to work with next spring.
The national reviews were mixed. Yahoo Sports put the Colts on its list of deadline losers for keeping Taylor and Jones, writing that they "settled for minor deals on deadline day." CBS Sports gave the Colts an A for the Downs trade.
My Take: I Don't Get Keeping Taylor
I don't understand keeping Jonathan Taylor.
I get wanting a first-round pick for him. He is that good. But he is 27, which is a little older for a running back, and other teams don't want to give up a first-rounder for a back that age. If multiple teams really offered a second-round pick and more, I would have taken it.
We're not going to win right now. This team is 2-7, has lost five straight, has no first-round pick in 2027 and just traded its best offensive lineman. So what's the point of keeping him?
The argument for keeping him is that he is signed through 2028 and whoever plays quarterback next will need help. I still think a second-round pick does more for this rebuild than two more seasons of a star running back on a losing team. By the time the Colts are good again, he will be pushing 30 with a lot more carries on his legs.
Daniel Jones is a different story. I saw a lot of people frustrated that the Colts didn't trade him too. But the Colts save more by releasing him after the season than they would have by trading him this week, $38 million against the 2027 cap compared with $11.6 million. Keeping him through the end of the season makes sense to me.
Downs and Allen made sense to me as well. Both contracts were up after the season and Downs wanted out. Picks are better than watching them walk in March.
What's Next for the Colts
The Colts host the Miami Dolphins on Sunday, November 15, at 1 p.m. at Lucas Oil Stadium. Four days later they play at Houston on Thursday, November 19, at 8:15 p.m. on Prime Video. The bye comes in Week 13.
Things to watch the rest of the way:
- Who catches the ball now that the team's leader in catches (Allen) and its leader in receiving yards (Downs) are both gone
- Whether Taylor's numbers bounce back behind a line that no longer has Nelson
- Who owner Carlie Irsay-Gordon hires as general manager, and what that means for Shane Steichen
Would you have taken a second-round pick for Jonathan Taylor?
Sources
- Colts.com: Colts acquire 2027 fourth- and fifth-round picks from Chiefs for Josh Downs
- Colts.com: Colts trade Keenan Allen to 49ers for 2027 sixth-round pick
- ESPN: Chiefs trade for Colts receiver Josh Downs
- NFL.com: Chiefs acquire Josh Downs ahead of trade deadline
- NFL.com: Colts trade Keenan Allen to 49ers
- ProFootballTalk: Despite multiple offers, Colts will not trade Jonathan Taylor
- Bleacher Report: Jonathan Taylor won't be traded by Colts
- ESPN: Colts willing to trade Jonathan Taylor (October 31)
- ESPN: Jonathan Taylor player page and news
- ESPN: Jonathan Taylor 2026 game log
- Pro Football Network: Daniel Jones' contract and dead money
- Over the Cap: Daniel Jones contract details
- Yahoo Sports: Vikings trade for Kirk Cousins instead of Daniel Jones
- Colts.com: Colts lose fifth straight to Cowboys
- Colts.com: 2026 schedule
- Yahoo Sports: 2026 trade deadline winners and losers
- CBS Sports: Josh Downs trade grades
