Josh Downs Requests a Trade From the Colts: What It Means With Jonathan Taylor Staying Put
ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported Wednesday that Colts receiver Josh Downs has asked Indianapolis to trade him. Hours later, Downs stood in the locker room and declined to confirm or deny it, which is its own kind of answer.
“Like I said, I’m open to whatever,” Downs told reporters. “Whatever comes my way comes my way. I’m here right now. I’m where my feet are.”
That is a player who can see the building being emptied around him.
The Colts are selling and nobody is pretending otherwise
Indianapolis fired general manager Chris Ballard on Oct. 19, the day after a home loss to Tennessee dropped the team to 2-4. Owner Carlie Irsay-Gordon called the in-season timing “a deliberate decision.” Assistant general manager Ed Dodds is running personnel on an interim basis.
On Tuesday, Dodds moved two of the franchise’s most recognizable players within hours of each other. Quenton Nelson went to Seattle for a 2027 third-round pick and a 2028 fifth. DeForest Buckner went back to San Francisco for a 2027 fourth. Both were headed for free agency in March, and both were worth more as draft capital than as the last 10 games of a 2-5 season.
Shane Steichen would not say whether either player asked out. “I’ll keep all of that private,” he said Wednesday.
Downs is 25, in a contract year, and having his worst season
Downs was a third-round pick in 2023 out of North Carolina and is playing out a rookie deal that pays him just over $1.5 million this year. He becomes an unrestricted free agent in March. Bleacher Report reported he was not especially interested in signing an extension with Indianapolis before the season started.
The production backs up the frustration. Through seven games he has 26 catches for 307 yards and no touchdowns, on a 56.5 percent catch rate that is a career low. Over his first three seasons he put up 198 catches, 2,140 yards and 11 touchdowns, including a 771-yard rookie year.
Some of that is circumstance. Alec Pierce has been out, which has pushed more coverage onto Downs, and Daniel Jones has thrown four touchdowns against seven interceptions while ranking 31st in QBR.
Jordan Schultz reported that Downs has drawn interest from multiple AFC teams, Pittsburgh among them. No other club has been named by a reporter, so treat the landing-spot lists as guesswork.
Jonathan Taylor is the one they will not move
Steichen was asked Wednesday whether Taylor had also requested a trade. “No,” he said. “Those are hypothetical things right now. I know there’s stuff floating around out there, but JT’s on our football team.”
Adam Schefter reported Tuesday that Colts ownership does not want to trade Taylor at all, and that Irsay-Gordon sees him as part of whatever comes next. Taylor signed a two-year, $44 million extension in August. He is 27, he has 587 rushing yards and eight rushing touchdowns through seven games, and he led the NFL with 20 rushing scores last season. Teams have called anyway, and Indianapolis is reportedly asking for a second-round pick plus more.
What it actually means
Trading Taylor would be the move that says the Colts are tearing it down. Trading Downs is the move that says they are tidying up. One is a 27-year-old on a fresh extension the owner likes. The other is a slot receiver who walks in March anyway and would bring back a Day 3 pick the next general manager gets to spend.
The deadline is Nov. 10. Indianapolis plays at Jacksonville on Sunday. The Jets, who own the Colts’ 2027 first-round pick, are the only people in the league enjoying any of this.
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.
