Two Significant Colts Named in Trade Projection

The Indianapolis Colts could be sellers at the NFL trade deadline, and as such, two of their significant players have been mentioned in trade projections.

The Indianapolis Colts are at a crossroads, both in the short and long term.

This offseason, they thought adding veteran quarterback Matt Ryan would be the missing piece to put them back into deep playoff contention. However, the Colts' offense has been a mess instead, to put it lightly, leading to the team turning to second-year quarterback Sam Ehlinger as the unit's new leader.

If Ehlinger plays exceedingly well then the Colts likely enter the offseason looking to build around him. Or, if he stumbles and the Colts finish with a poor record, they can focus on their long-term answer at the quarterback position.

In either scenario, the Colts need to add resources to make moves in the offseason, so they are now a popular candidate to be sellers by next week's NFL trade deadline.

Conor Orr of Sports Illustrated recently came up with nine trades across the NFL that he'd like to see happen, and two significant Colts players were involved: running back Nyheim Hines and cornerback Stephon Gilmore.

Nyheim Hines to the Rams
Psych, Les Snead isn’t done yet. If Hines’s medical situation improves, the Colts could see a way to get some return for their backfield receiving threat. Hines has twice caught more than 60 balls in a season and, given the Rams’ thirst for Christian McCaffrey, they may be sending out feelers around the league for another back who can handle pass-catching responsibility and add an obvious speed flavor to the offense.

The story of Hines' 2022 season has been far from what was initially expected. With Ryan's arrival, it was supposed to reignite Hines in the Colts' offense and propel him to perhaps his most productive season.

However, he's been underutilized and has since missed the majority of the last three games with a concussion. As a result, he's on pace for one of the least statistically productive seasons of his five-year career.

Hines still holds value as one of the NFL's more dynamic and dangerous pass-catching running backs. Plus, he can return punts at a high level. While he's an important part of the Colts' offense when they're at their best, it would make sense to try and flip him for a mid-round draft pick.

The Colts already have superstar running back Jonathan Taylor, and Deon Jackson proved himself to be a quality player and pass-catcher while Taylor and Hines missed time with injuries.

Stephon Gilmore to the Ravens (or back to the Bills!)
Gilmore, at age 32, is having one of his best seasons in years. The heady cornerback star, once the best in the NFL at his position, is still trustworthy on top wide receiver talent and has experience in myriad defenses. The Ravens, who have one of the worst dropback success rates in the NFL, could see this as a typical move under GM Eric DeCosta and coach John Harbaugh, to add a high-character vet who would pay immediate dividends. The same could be said for the Bills, the team that drafted Gilmore in the first place.

Gilmore is another player who makes sense to trade by the deadline, as our Zach Hicks pointed out recently.

The veteran and former NFL Defensive Player of the Year signed on to a Colts team this offseason that he thought would be a postseason contender. However, the team has shown itself to be mediocre and far from certain to make the playoffs. As a professional courtesy to Gilmore, the Colts could trade him to a contender so as to not waste any time that he's got left in his career.

It would put the Colts in a tougher spot to trade Gilmore, as he's been arguably their most important defensive player this season. A cornerback trio of Kenny Moore II, Isaiah Rodgers, and Brandon Facyson doesn't have the same luster as it would with Gilmore atop the group.

Through seven games, he has 1 interception and 4 pass breakups. Per Pro Football Focus, Gilmore has yet to allow a touchdown, and opposing quarterbacks have a passer rating of just 72.7 when throwing at him, which ranks as the 20th-best mark among 85 qualifying NFL cornerbacks.

In two of the Colts' three victories, Gilmore has made a last-second, game-saving play for the team. He's been worth every penny of his two-year, $20 million contract.

So, will the Colts be active at the trade deadline? It's not necessarily general manager Chris Ballard's modus operandi to react as such but switching to Ehlinger at midseason was a surprise as well.

The NFL's official 2022 trade deadline is at 4:00pm ET on Tues., Nov. 1.

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