The Indianapolis Colts capped off what was a busy body of work ahead of the trade deadline by trading wide receiver Josh Downs to the Kansas City Chiefs. The Colts had made it known they were operating as sellers ahead of the deadline, and with Downs in a contract year, the front office decided to move on from him before he potentially left for nothing in free agency.
In the buildup to the trade deadline, Downs requested a trade from Indianapolis, so he is likely thrilled to be going from one of the worst teams in the league to one of the best. Once news of the deal was made public, Downs quickly took an opportunity to share his reaction to the move, which saw him throw shade at his now-former team.
Josh Downs Throws Shade at Colts After Getting Traded to Chiefs
The Colts selected Downs in the third round of the 2023 NFL Draft, and while he isn’t exactly a star, he’s a solid secondary playmaker who excelled at creating separation on short-to-intermediate routes in the passing game. With the team moving on from Michael Pittman Jr. over the offseason, Downs was expected to take on a bigger role on offense alongside Alec Pierce.
Instead, Pierce has missed virtually the entire season with heel and ankle injuries, which has allowed opposing defenses to key in on Downs. The result has been a laborious season of sorts. Downs has caught 33 passes for 354 yards and a touchdown, but the process of getting there has rarely been pretty, as evidenced by his rough game in Week 9 against the Dallas Cowboys.
With the Chiefs, Downs will get to settle into a secondary role behind Rashee Rice, and there’s no doubt that playing with Patrick Mahomes is an upgrade from Daniel Jones. It shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that Downs is excited to be heading to a new team, but it was a surprise to see him quickly throw shade by posting a GIF of NBA legend Vince Carter crying tears of joy as his immediate reaction to the trade.
Josh Downs Makes Thoughts on Colts Trade Very Clear
The Colts made their intentions at the trade deadline very clear, and it seems obvious now that Downs didn’t want to be a part of their rebuild. Indy did well to move on from him before it would have likely lost him for nothing in free agency, but you can bet the team and its fans won’t be too thrilled to see this sort of reaction from him.
Indianapolis will now turn the page on its work at the trade deadline and begin focusing on its Week 10 matchup against the Miami Dolphins. From here on out, the Colts will be looking to lose as much as possible, but they will ironically have a pretty good shot at winning on Sunday against a beat-up Dolphins team. Kickoff for this contest is scheduled for 1 p.m. ET.
Josh Downs Immediately Throws Shade at Colts After Chiefs Trade