The Colts Traded Quenton Nelson for a Third and a Fifth, Then Moved DeForest Buckner the Same Day
The Indianapolis Colts just sold an eight-time Pro Bowl guard for a 2027 third-round pick and a 2028 fifth-round pick. That is the entire return for Quenton Nelson, and the Seattle Seahawks should be sending Indianapolis a thank-you note.
The deal is pending Nelson’s physical. Seattle waived guard Christian Haynes to make room and takes on the roughly $9.78 million left on Nelson’s contract this season. He becomes a free agent in March.
Eight Pro Bowls in Eight Seasons
Nelson is 30 and in his ninth season, all of it at left guard after Indianapolis took him sixth overall out of Notre Dame in 2018. He has made the Pro Bowl in every one of his first eight seasons. The only other offensive lineman in league history to do that is Joe Thomas.
He is also not a name coasting on reputation. Nelson has allowed zero sacks on 275 pass-blocking snaps this season and sits third among 74 qualified guards in Pro Football Focus grading at 85.7. Six pressures allowed in seven games. He has started 136 games and missed four since 2018.
A third and a fifth.
The Colts Had No Good Options, and That Is Their Own Fault
Owner Carlie Irsay-Gordon fired general manager Chris Ballard on October 19 at 2-4. Assistant GM Ed Dodds is running the personnel department on an interim basis, and the Colts are now 2-5 on a three-game losing streak. Dodds spent 2007 through 2016 in Seattle’s front office, overlapping John Schneider for about seven seasons, which is the sort of detail that explains how a deal like this gets done fast.
Indianapolis never extended Nelson. He reportedly wanted to become the highest-paid interior offensive lineman, a title Tyler Linderbaum holds at $27 million a year, and the franchise tag does not separate guards from tackles, so tagging him in 2027 would have cost around $30 million. The real choice was picks now or a compensatory pick in 2028.
Nelson addressed the rumors on October 21, before any of this happened. “I love it here, I met my wife here, I really appreciate and love this organization,” he said. His teammate Braden Smith told Colts.com that “since day one, he’s really been a culture-setter.”
Then the Colts traded DeForest Buckner to the San Francisco 49ers the same day. Adam Schefter reported that ownership does not want to move Jonathan Taylor, and that Josh Downs and Grover Stewart are getting calls. This is a teardown that started 13 days ago and is already two starters deep.
Seattle Was Already Good and Just Got Better
The Seahawks are 4-3 and defending Super Bowl champions, coming off a 20-3 win over the Chiefs. They also have the highest interior pressure rate in the NFL and rank 27th in run-block win rate. Sam Darnold was hit 17 times in the overtime loss to Denver.
Grey Zabel, last year’s 18th overall pick, has played all 464 of his snaps at left guard and is expected to slide to right guard, where he played at North Dakota State. Left tackle Charles Cross hurt his ankle Sunday, reported as a high ankle sprain, and Mason Richman is on injured reserve with a torn ACL. Seattle needed help up front and got the best player available.
This is the fourth straight year Schneider has made an in-season trade, and he keeps running the same play: buy a veteran on an expiring deal, extend him later. Leonard Williams in 2023, Ernest Jones IV in 2024, Rashid Shaheed in 2025. Nelson is the biggest one yet, and the deadline is still two weeks away on November 10.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
