The Indianapolis Colts and Josh Downs have an uncertain future together.
Downs has requested a trade, and with the NFL deadline on Nov. 10, there’s less than two weeks for Indy to get a deal done and honor that request.
In reality, it seems likely that a trade will come to fruition. Downs is in the final year of his contract, and the Colts are selling off players after a 2-5 start to the season and a firing of GM Chris Ballard.
The Colts already traded Quenton Nelson and DeForest Buckner in similar contract situations. It’d be odd for them to keep Downs at this point unless they felt they could work out an extension.
Still, Downs remains in Indianapolis as of Friday, which creates an interesting setup. The Colts have two games between now and the trade deadline, in Week 8 against the Jaguars and Week 9 against the Cowboys. What do they do with Downs in the meantime?
Josh Downs Update
It looks like, for now, the Colts don’t plan to hold Downs out of action.
That would be the big consideration — do you sit Downs so he doesn’t get hurt while working through trade negotiations?
Downs is at Colts practice Friday, the latest indication that he’ll probably be on the field on Sunday:
#Colts WR Josh Downs still practicing amid his reported trade request. https://t.co/w1Y0nim4Cd
— James Boyd (@RomeovilleKid) October 30, 2026
It is worth noting that things could change quickly here. Nothing is stopping the Colts from negotiating a trade in the next 48 hours and, even if it’s not fully complete, getting close enough that it becomes more prudent to sit Downs — particularly if the other team says they’d prefer Downs sit out of action to preserve his health.
But at least for now, the Colts and Downs are still working together.
Josh Downs Difference
There is something that feels different about the prospect of trading Downs compared to Nelson and Buckner.
Downs, unlike those veterans, is just completing his rookie contract. He’s been in the NFL a lot less time. He feels like a player who could still be growing into his best self.
In a lot of ways, Downs feels like the a guy the Colts would’ve given a contract extension to, but that didn’t happen — in part because they paid Alec Pierce this summer instead.
It’d be quite the domino effect to have paying Pierce mean that the Colts trade away both Michael Pittman Jr. (to the Steelers in the offseason) and now Downs, but that’s the way it seems to be heading.
Compared to the veterans the Colts have sent away, trading Downs is the kind of move that could have legitimate long-term pain if Downs grows into a star with a new team as he just begins to head toward his prime.
Colts’ Josh Downs Update Arrives After Trade Request