The Indianapolis Colts are believed to be one of the teams that was pursuing a trade for Marvin Harrison Jr. from the Arizona Cardinals.
And on Saturday morning, news emerged that Harrison is being traded.
The tricky part: The report about a Harrison trade from ESPN’s Adam Schefter didn’t actually name what team was getting Harrison.
It suggests a deal is close, or maybe even agreed to, but the intel Schefter had was simply that a trade is going to happen and that Harrison will be inactive this weekend while a trade is finalized.
That leaves the Colts, and any other team going after Harrison, potentially waiting for a deal that seems to be happening but also isn’t happening enough yet to be fully reported.
It’s a bit of an odd setup, but it does create one other thing to consider: Harrison’s trade cost.
It does sound like whatever the cost, it was too steep for the Colts — this report indicates Harrison will be going elsewhere:
Per source, Marv Jr isn’t heading to Indy. like just about every team, Colts did due diligence but that’s all. Prob decided price too steep. imo bringing Marv Jr to Indy would have brought unrealistic expectations, pressure.
— Mike Chappell (@mchappell51) October 10, 2026
Marvin Harrison Jr. Trade Cost Revealed
According to NFL insider Tom Pelissero, Harrison “won’t come cheap.”
Pelissero wrote on X on Saturday morning that the Cardinals are asking for a second-round pick “and more” to get Harrison.
MHJ was the No. 4 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, and he had a strong rookie season, regressed a bit last year and has been close to a non-factor this season.
Still, given his pedigree and assumed talent level, Harrison will be pricy.
To get a deal done, maybe Arizona would have to compromise just a bit on its asking price, but it sure looks like someone will pay handsomely for Harrison.
That Pelissero report came out about an hour before Schefter’s updated news that a trade was indeed happening, so it would suggest that potentially Arizona’s asking price was met.
Colts Draft Pick Problem
The Colts are a bit short on draft picks, which could hurt them here.
They don’t have their 2027 first-round pick, because that went to the New York Jets in the Sauce Gardner trade.
They also don’t have their 2027 sixth-round pick, which went to the Bills in a deal for Sedrick Van Pran-Granger.
The Colts do have an extra 2027 seventh-round pick.
Indy has all their picks in years beyond 2027.
The Colts would have to consider in trading for Harrison if they’d be willing to go without both a first- and second-round pick in 2027, or they’d have to convince Arizona to take a pick further into the future.
The Cardinals probably have a couple years until they’re truly relevant, so maybe they’d go for that. But a team with better draft capital than the Colts might have a better chance of closing this deal.
And given the reports coming out, it sounds like the Colts did indeed miss out.
Colts’ Marvin Harrison Jr. Potential Trade Cost Revealed