Report: Colts WR Josh Downs requests trade ahead of NFL deadline for deals

The Colts' fire sale has prompted another key player to seek a way out.

Receiver Josh Downs has requested a trade, ESPN's Jeremy Fowler reported Wednesday.

Downs spoke shortly after the news broke Wednesday, and he certainly didn't deny his reported desire to play elsewhere.

"I’m open to whatever," he said, via ESPN's Stephen Holder. "Whatever comes my way, comes my way and we go from there.”

Downs' request follows Tuesday's busy day for the Colts and interim general manager Ed Dodds, who agreed to send two franchise cornerstones to NFC West contenders in two separate trades.

The Dodds-led front office traded guard Quenton Nelson to the Seattle Seahawks in exchange for third- and fifth-round picks, signaling to the rest of the NFL that Indianapolis was open for business. Later Tuesday, San Francisco dialed Indy, swinging a deal to bring former 49ers draft pick DeForest Buckner back to the Bay Area six years after the 49ers sent Buckner to the Colts via a March 2020 trade.

In the two trades, Dodds recouped third-, fourth- and fifth-round picks for two established veterans who were playing on expiring contracts. Both were valuable members of the Colts' roster, but if Indianapolis is truly embarking on a full-scale rebuild after a 2-5 start that included the firing of GM Chris Ballard, these veterans were no longer needed.

Downs represents a slightly different case. He is also on an expiring contract -- his rookie contract -- and is only just entering his prime as a productive slot receiver. Downs, 25, is the type of player who would typically be identified as a key piece to a team's rebuild, not a movable asset made available for Day 3 picks. 

It appears repeated frustrations with the Colts have exhausted Downs' patience, and it's hard to blame him. Indianapolis gave deep threat Alec Pierce a lucrative contract extension this offseason, traded Michael Pittman to Pittsburgh, and placed most of its stock in the belief quarterback Daniel Jones could return from injury and generate the same explosive offense that defined the first half of the 2025 season.

Pierce has barely played at all this season, leaving Downs on a receiving island so barren, the Colts quickly signed an over-the-hill Keenan Allen in late August, and have relied on former first-round receiver-turned-journeyman Laquon Treadwell, turning additional attention toward Downs as the team's strongest receiving threat and limiting his production in a contract year.

Through seven games, Downs has caught 26 of 46 targets for a team-high 307 yards and no touchdowns.

With the most valuable of Downs' teammates packing their bags to go chase Super Bowls with legitimate contenders out west, it's understandable that Downs might want to leave, too -- even if he won't directly admit it.

“They deserve to have a great shot of winning something big this year,” Downs said of Nelson and Buckner, via the Indianapolis Star. “I know they’re excited for their future.

"I’m here right now, I’m where my feet are. We got the Jags this weekend. I’m in the game plan, so I’ve got to be ready to go.”