The Indianapolis Colts did the logical thing in trading Josh Downs less than 30 minutes until the NFL trade deadline.
The talented slot receiver is in the last year of his contract and even requested a trade, so it wouldn’t have made any sense for the Colts to keep him. After getting pretty close to the buzzer, the Colts dealt him to the Kansas City Chiefs.
The trade brought picks in the fourth and fifth rounds back to Indy in exchange for Downs and a seventh-rounder.
And it didn’t take long for Downs to get onto the field for his new team. The Chiefs gave Downs his debut immediately on Sunday in Week 10 against the Atlanta Falcons.
It didn’t take long for Downs to make an impact, either.
Josh Downs’ First Game With Chiefs After Colts
Downs caught his first touchdown with the Chiefs in his second quarter with their team.
He lined up in a trips set on the left side, and he ran a route essentially right at the pylon.
After Mahomes created a bit of time by moving up in the pocket, the superstar QB threw on the run and tossed a back shoulder pass to Downs — who swiveled and reeled it in for a touchdown.
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Downs had already made a catch before that, too.
The Chiefs slow-played Downs. He got just one snap out of their first 10 plays. But from there, it was clear they were starting to incorporate him more into their offense.
Colts Without Josh Downs
Intriguingly, the Colts seemed fine without Downs on Sunday.
They were getting Ashton Dulin, Anthony Gould and Laquon Treadwell all involved early. Deion Burks and Nick Westbrook-Ikhine got snaps, too.
The Colts jumped out to a 21-7 lead on the lowly Miami Dolphins early in the second half.
Indianapolis depleted its WR depth chart on Tuesday when they traded away both Downs and Keenan Allen, who went to the San Francisco 49ers.
The Colts are rebuilding, so it’s not really about who they have left behind. But it’s nice to see Indy’s passing game work at least a little bit with Daniel Jones at the helm, even if it’s against a poor Dolphins team.
Josh Downs’ First Game After Colts Features Special Moment