Analyst Says Colts Must 'Hold' on Trading

The Indianapolis Colts might not be suited to execute a meaningful trade this year.

Indianapolis Colts General Manager Chris Ballard speaks to the media Thursday, Jan. 11, 2024 at the Indiana Farm Bureau Football Center, the Colts Complex. / Kelly Wilkinson/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK

The Indianapolis Colts are 3-3 heading into their home matchup with the Miami Dolphins. While teams like the Buffalo Bills and New York Jets have executed trades, Indianapolis typically is more reserved in this regard. Pro Football Focus believes Indy retains the status quo and Chris Ballard should stay put with any deals.

At 3-3, the Colts are in the trade-deadline mix. That could just be an illusion, though. They look set on offense, except at quarterback, and when there are questions at quarterback, it's always risky to go all-in.

- Khaled Elsayed | Pro Football Focus

The first thing to address is 'except at quarterback' for being set on offense. While Anthony Richardson has struggled in year two, there's no mirage here with the QB conversation. Backup veteran Joe Flacco has gone 2-1 in relief of Richardson but isn't raising questions about the quarterback conversation in Indy going forward. This is merely surface value analysis. Richardson's oblique injury appears to be behind him and the second-year field general is trending toward starting in week seven.

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As for going 'all-in' Indy doesn't have roster members they can afford to let go of. While there are depth players or role talents that make sense for the Colts to trade, they likely won't get much out of it in return. However, if Ballard was willing to deal a player like Kenny Moore II, DeForest Buckner, or Quenton Nelson, then teams would perk their ears up immediately.

The Colts also don't have a massive amount of money to spend, sitting around the middle of the league with $11,122,728 available (Over The Cap). If there were any bigger names that the Colts wanted to target for a trade, they might need to use most of their available cap to make that happen. This of course depends on the player and contract that would transfer.

The reason this won't happen is that Moore and Buckner were recently re-signed and extended, while Nelson is a pillar of the Colts', and Richardson's, success. Others on Indy's roster like Josh Downs or Nick Cross also makes sense given their youth and rising talents, but the Colts seem 100% invested in them as they are in Richardson.

Elsayed is correct that Indianapolis should stay put here on any big-time trades. However, if there's something that makes sense and acquires future draft picks without sacrificing a bevy of talent, Ballard just might execute a mid-season trade. We'll see what happens as the NFL trade deadline approaches (November 5th).

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