The 2026 NFL trade deadline was Tuesday at 4 p.m. ET.
The Indianapolis Colts are 2-7 and in third place in the AFC South. Given how the season has gone so far, the Colts continued their restructuring by offloading wide receivers Josh Downs and Keenan Allen on Tuesday.
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Former Colts wide receiver Reggie Wayne, who has been Indy’s WR coach since 2022, posted on social media after the deadline, joking that he may need to dust off his cleats and become a player-coach to help address the team’s lack of depth.
Wayne played for the Colts from 2001-14. Over his career, he amassed 14,345 receiving yards and 82 touchdowns.
To answer Wayne’s question, yes, player-coaches have been a thing, but he is not eligible because the current collective bargaining agreement bans that option. The last player-coach was Dan Reeves for the Dallas Cowboys in the early 1970s.
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Downs was traded to the Kansas City Chiefs along with a 2027 seventh-round pick for 2027 fourth- and fifth-round picks. Allen went to the San Francisco 49ers for a 2027 sixth-round pick.
The duo was Indianapolis’ top receiving threat this year, with Downs tallying 354 yards and a touchdown and Allen logging 351 yards and a touchdown.
Without them, the Colts’ wide receiver room looks like an island of misfit toys.
Laquon Treadwell (215 receiving yards this year)
Ashton Dulin (84 yards and 1 touchdown)
Nick Westbrook-Ikhine (0 yards)
Indianapolis’ current batch of wide receivers has combined for 375 yards and a touchdown so far this year. That is barely better than Downs or Allen.
This new-look receiving unit will get its first chance to prove doubters wrong Sunday when the Colts host the Miami Dolphins.
