Indianapolis Colts have taken multiple tough steps in less than a couple of weeks. But it won’t be wrong to say that the firing of general manager Chris Ballard has seemingly started a chain reaction, and the Colts are looking to overhaul the team. Just this week, the team has traded veteran guard Quenton Nelson to the Seattle Seahawks and defensive tackle DeForest Buckner to the San Francisco 49ers.
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And now, according to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, fourth-year wide receiver Josh Downs has also requested a trade. As that happened, former Colts punter Pat McAfee addressed the situation in Indianapolis, as he wondered whether the Downs situation could be another indication of the problems the franchise needs to address, considering the Colts are currently facing the consequences of years of roster-building decisions under Ballard.
“Is this a message to the locker room because Josh Downs just requested a trade? ‘Get me the hell out of here,’ he said, allegedly, via Jeremy Fowler,” said McAfee on his show. “…I think everybody’s trying to know right now…Josh Downs is having his best year by far, and last year he was great as well. He’s the only guy that we have that is seemingly open consistently. He’s just open. That’s the only way you can really describe him, and somebody is going to really enjoy him, man.”
Even though Downs has just requested a trade, the writing was already on the wall. Fowler previously reported that the receiver could be a trade candidate ahead of the November 10 deadline. At the same time, ESPN’s Adam Schefter also reported that the Colts could get trade calls for multiple players, including Buckner and Downs.
While Indianapolis has traded Buckner to the 49ers, they will have to decide Downs’ future with the team. A former third-round pick of Chris Ballard’s era, Downs is in the final year of his rookie contract and currently leading the Colts’ wide receiver room amid Alec Pierce’s ankle injury.
After finishing the 2025 season with 566 yards on 58 receptions and recording 4 touchdowns, Josh Downs has caught 26 receptions for 307 yards and no touchdowns. Certainly, the Colts will be required to extend him in the next offseason. However, as Fowler reported, the receiver is open to going anywhere ahead of the deadline.
“I’m open to whatever. Whatever comes my way, come my way and we go from there,” said Downs, per ESPN.
Pat McAfee, however, raised a bigger question. He argued that with Ballard as the general manager, the Colts signed Nelson on a contract extension, while bringing Buckner via trade in 2020 and then signing him on a two-year deal in 2024 as well. But with Ballard’s departure, McAfee’s questioned the team’s decision to keep veteran players for so long before eventually deciding to part ways with them.
“But you talked about it being Quenton Nelson’s second extension,” added McAfee, while talking to Ian Rapoport. “He was the second draft of Chris Ballard. Malik Hooker was the first first-rounder. Obviously, he ends up leaving the Colts. Quenton Nelson was the second first-round pick for Chris Ballard’s era. He’d been here eight years. He got two contracts. That’s how long Ballard was there.
“I mean, we’re talking about people getting multiple contracts during a Chris Ballard era, and now we’re learning about how it was all set up, how we get out of it, and who was chosen to stay and who was chosen to move on from basically with these contracts. It’s like, man, we’re in a bad spot, bro. We are in a bad spot in Indianapolis Colts.”
The Colts brought Ballard as their general manager in 2017. However, the team struggled under his tenure and made the postseason just twice. After a struggling start to the 2026 season, the team parted ways with Ballard. Indianapolis was 72-82-1 in the regular season and 1-2 in the postseason during Ballard’s era.
“I am grateful to Chris for his years of service to the Colts and for everything he poured into this organization. He cared deeply about our team and our community, and we wish Chris and his family all the best,” Colts owner Carlie Irsay-Gordon said in a statement. “As I said at the start of the season, the sense of urgency has never been higher. Our standard is to compete for championships, and I believe a change in leadership is necessary to meet that standard.”
With Ballard gone, assistant GM Ed Dodds will oversee the personnel department. But Pat McAfee believes that the Colts are now in a tough position. The person who oversaw those roster decisions is gone, established players are being traded, and Josh Downs has reportedly requested a trade. It remains to be seen whether the Colts will trade Josh Downs before the trade deadline or keep him beyond his rookie contract.