The Indianapolis Colts could be sellers at the trade deadline in a few weeks.
The NFL trade deadline is on Nov. 10, and the Colts will play three games between now and then to try and improve on their 2-4 record.
If Indy finds itself in a better place, the Colts could choose to stand pat.
But if the Colts continue to fall off, veterans on expiring contracts could be logical trade candidates.
One name on the Colts’ defense stands out in that category more than any other: DeForest Buckner.
And if the big defensive tackle ends up getting traded, you can count on one team in particular being lined up to make the deal with Indianapolis.
Who Wants DeForest Buckner?
The San Francisco 49ers have been floated as a destination for Buckner, and the latest reporting firms up that link.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter and Ian Rapoport wrote Sunday about what the Colts could do with their trade candidates, and they specifically suggested the 49ers for Buckner.
“One team that could decide to make a run at Buckner is the San Francisco 49ers, for whom the star defensive tackle played from 2016 through 2019, according to league sources,” the insider duo writes. “The 49ers traded Buckner to the Colts in March 2020 for the 13th overall pick in that year’s draft. Buckner is now 32, playing as well as he ever has and scheduled to be a free agent in 2027. It makes him a prime target at a position several contenders need.”
The 49ers are one of the best teams in football. They’d definitely benefit from Buckner.
And it sounds like the Colts will be trading Buckner if they do indeed decide to make deals at all.
“Buckner already has been paid $10 million in a roster bonus, and he is due the rest of his $13 million base salary this year,” the insider duo writes. “Nearly guaranteed to leave Indianapolis after the season, a decision to unload players would almost certainly include Buckner.”
Colts Trade Plans
Schefter and Rapoport also wrote more broadly about the Colts’ thinking about trades.
“Sources informed of the Colts’ thinking believe this is their plan: try to win the next three games at Minnesota, at Jacksonville and against Dallas before the Nov. 10 trade deadline to give their coaches and players a chance to earn their way into the playoff mix,” the insider duo writes. “If it does not go well, new chief of personnel Ed Dodds, a longtime lieutenant of Ballard, will work in concert with Colts owner Carlie Irsay-Gordon and other members of the Indianapolis brass to deal resources and build for the future.”
And if it doesn’t go well, Buckner could end up back in the Bay Area.
This Team Wants Colts’ DeForest Buckner in Trade