Colts send All-Pro guard Quenton Nelson to Seahawks, DeForest Buckner to 49ers for draft picks

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Quenton Nelson made an All-Pro impact right from the start for the Indianapolis Colts.

The defending Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks think he can do the same thing for their struggling ground game.

One week after team co-owner Carlie Irsay-Gordon fired general manager Chris Ballard, who drafted Nelson with the No. 6 overall pick in 2018, Nelson was dealt to the Seahawks for two draft picks — the first of two trades Tuesday. Indy received a 2027 third-rounder and a 2028 fifth-rounder for Nelson.

A few hours later, the Colts sent Pro Bowl defensive tackle DeForest Buckner to San Francisco, the team announced. Indy will receive a 2027 fourth-round pick.

While the timing may come as a surprise, Irsay-Gordon telegraphed this was a possibility in her statement last week.

“As I said at the start of the season, the sense of urgency has never been higher. Our standard is to compete for championships, and I believe a change in leadership is necessary to meet that standard,” she said. “Making this change during the season was a deliberate decision. Waiting would only delay the important work that needs to begin now.”

Nelson, the league’s third-highest paid guard, had been a stalwart on the offensive line for nearly a decade in Indy. But his contract expires after the season, and Nelson has been reluctant to discuss his future plans following the Ballard move.

“I just feel like everyone came to work and are doing their best,” Nelson said after Indy lost its third straight last weekend, 16-10 at Minnesota. “I don’t know what else to say.”

Indy was willing to trade Nelson because it wants more draft capital to make up for the loss of 2026 and 2027 first-round picks that were sent to the New York Jets last November to acquire All-Pro cornerback Sauce Gardner.

Buckner was next. He, too, has an expiring contract and had expressed his displeasure with what’s happened after each of Indy’s past two losses.

“How about you guess?” Buckner said in Minnesota when asked about his level of his frustration. “Yeah, I’m frustrated. Same thing: We lost.”

Now he’s back with the franchise where he started his career. This season, his seventh with Indy, he has 31 tackles and four sacks. He finishes his Colts tenure with 420 tackles and 47 sacks. Buckner had 263 tackles and 28 1/2 sacks in four seasons with the 49ers before he was acquired in a 2020 trade.

Could there be more wheeling and dealing?

While Jonathan Taylor signed a two-year contract extension worth $44 million in August and is tied for the league lead in TD runs (eight) and is fifth in yards rushing (587), he could be sought after on the trade market.

The Colts’ season is spiraling with 12 losses in 14 games going back to last season with a Sunday matchup in Jacksonville (4-2) looming.

The situation turned when the Colts lost to the previously winless Tennessee Titans at home in Week 6. The next day, Ballard was fired and assistant general manager Ed Dodds took over.

In 2018, Nelson and linebacker Darius Leonard became the first rookie teammates to earn All-Pro honors since former Chicago Bears teammates Gale Sayers and Dick Butkus in 1965. Nelson was an All-Pro from 2018 to 2020, and was a major factor on the line for his entire career.

The Seahawks (4-3) wanted Nelson because the offensive line has struggled to open holes in the running game since losing Super Bowl MVP Kenneth Walker III in free agency. The hope in Seattle is that this move will make a difference.

They’ll get their glimpse at how Nelson fits Monday night when the Seahawks host the Chicago Bears (5-2).

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AP Pro Football Writer Josh Dubow also contributed to this report.

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