Colts trade Quenton Nelson and DeForest Buckner, adding three future picks
Indianapolis dealt Quenton Nelson to Seattle and DeForest Buckner to San Francisco on Tuesday, adding a 2027 third-rounder, a 2027 fourth-rounder and a 2028 fifth-rounder. Seattle says the Nelson move is pending a physical.
Confirmed facts are sourced to official league and team pages. FourthWire interpretation is labeled as analysis.
Story
Indianapolis made two consequential roster moves Tuesday, trading guard Quenton Nelson to the Seattle Seahawks and defensive tackle DeForest Buckner to the San Francisco 49ers.
Confirmed reporting
The Colts said they received a 2027 third-round pick and a 2028 fifth-round pick from Seattle for Nelson. Later Tuesday, Indianapolis announced it had acquired a 2027 fourth-round pick from San Francisco for Buckner.
Seattle’s own announcement describes its Nelson acquisition as pending a physical. That qualifier remains part of the transaction status and should travel with every description of the move until the club updates it.
Buckner returns to the franchise that selected him seventh overall in the 2016 NFL Draft. The Colts said he recorded 47 sacks, 122 quarterback hits and 63 tackles for loss across seven seasons in Indianapolis. The club also noted that Buckner had four sacks through seven games in 2026 after returning from season-ending neck surgery the prior year.
The confirmed return for Indianapolis is three future selections: Seattle’s 2027 third-round pick, San Francisco’s 2027 fourth-round pick and Seattle’s 2028 fifth-round pick.
FourthWire analysis
The two deals alter Indianapolis on both lines of scrimmage. Nelson has been the Colts’ starting left guard since his 2018 rookie season; Buckner had been one of the club’s central interior defenders since arriving in 2020. The immediate football question is not whether the roster is different—it clearly is—but how the Colts allocate snaps and stabilize each unit in the weeks ahead.
Indianapolis identified 2026 fourth-rounder Jalen Farmer as a possible candidate for a look at left guard after the Nelson trade. Any larger role projection beyond that is analysis, not a team announcement.
What comes next
Seattle’s announcement is the relevant checkpoint for Nelson’s physical. San Francisco’s corresponding public transaction update is the next confirmation point for Buckner’s roster status. Indianapolis next faces Jacksonville in Week 8, according to the Colts’ official schedule coverage.
FourthWire will update this report if either club announces a material change.
No corrections. Material updates create a visible new version rather than silently replacing this article.