The Indianapolis Colts traded away most of their obvious contract-year players.
Josh Downs is heading to the Chiefs. Keenan Allen and DeForest Buckner will both be 49ers. Quenton Nelson has joined the Seattle Seahawks.
But what about Grover Stewart?
The veteran defensive tackle is in the last year of his contract. He’ll be a free agent at the end of the season. The Colts are rebuilding. And somehow, they didn’t make a trade of Stewart before Tuesday’s 4 p.m. ET trade deadline.
Turns out, the Colts made a very specific mistake here.
Why Didn’t Colts Trade Grover Stewart?
The Colts didn’t trade Stewart because an offer they previously had on the table was pulled before they could take it.
This is what NFL insider Jordan Schultz shared on Tuesday evening in a post on X:
“Sources: The #Colts had an offer for DT Grover Stewart last week involving a 4th-round pick and another late-round pick, but waited on it and it was ultimately pulled. Indy keeps Stewart, who will be a free agent in March.”
Indy keeps Stewart, who will be a free agent in March.
Costly Mistake
Frankly, this is the kind of mistake a rebuilding team cannot afford.
The Colts had been criticized for trading Buckner and Nelson early, and maybe that’s why they held back on the Stewart deal until it was too late.
But on the flip side, Indy had a chance to get good enough value for a player who almost certainly won’t be in a Colts jersey next season.
It’s hard to know exactly what happened. It’s very possible that the team that made the offer for Stewart ended up landing a different defensive tackle for a price they liked better — or they decided the players already on their roster were good enough.
Either way, the reality doesn’t change: Stewart remains with the Colts the rest of the season, a bit of a lame duck heading toward free agency on a non-playoff team.
The Colts will have to hope he can bring some quality leadership to the locker room down the stretch, because that’s the only real positive they can get out of keeping Stewart around.
Clearly they were shopping him — that wasn’t a secret. And it turns out the Colts had an offer, too.
But in the end, they didn’t pull the trigger in time, and now they’re stuck with Stewart rather than the draft capital he could’ve brought back in a trade before Tuesday’s deadline.
Colts Make Costly Trade Deadline Mistake With Grover Stewart