The Indianapolis Colts traded Pro Bowl guard Quenton Nelson to the Seattle Seahawks on Tuesday, the clearest signal yet that the team is giving up on its 2026 season.
Seattle sent Indianapolis a third-round pick in the 2027 draft and a fifth-round pick in the 2028 draft for Nelson, a 30-year-old who has made eight Pro Bowls in his eight NFL seasons.
The Colts enter the move at 2-5, on a three-game losing streak, and already without general manager Chris Ballard, who was fired earlier this season. The next GM will need draft capital to reshape a roster that gave up multiple first-round picks last year at the trade deadline to acquire cornerback Sauce Gardner.
The Seahawks are coming off a win over the previously undefeated Kansas City Chiefs and are looking to strengthen their offensive line as defending Super Bowl champions. With Nelson joining the line, Seattle is expected to shift 2025 first-round pick Grey Zabel from left guard to right guard, the position he played in college at North Dakota State.
Indianapolis has not described the move as a roster teardown, and the NFL frowns on teams openly tanking. But the writing has been on the wall. As recently as this past weekend, the wife of Colts running back Jonathan Taylor said her family is on “a Colts transaction watch,” an indication that players around the team expect more moves.
Nelson had been named as a possible trade target before the Nov. 10 deadline. He is unsigned for 2027, meaning the Colts risked losing him in free agency with nothing in return. Keeping him and collecting a compensatory pick instead would not have paid off until the 2028 draft, a year later than the pick Indianapolis is getting now.
Other Colts players who have been floated as possible trade pieces include defensive lineman DeForest Buckner, who multiple teams have already inquired about according to a league source, along with wide receivers Josh Downs and Keenan Allen. Tight end Tyler Warren is reportedly the only player considered off-limits.
Whether any further trades happen will depend on what other teams are willing to offer and what price the Colts are willing to accept.
Interim general manager Ed Dodds is overseeing the moves. Dodds spent years in the Seattle front office under Seahawks GM John Schneider before joining Indianapolis, a relationship that helped bring the Nelson trade together.
