Colts Trade DeForest Buckner Back to 49ers for 2027 Fourth-Round Pick
Indianapolis keeps selling, sending the three-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle back to the team that drafted him hours after dealing Quenton Nelson to Seattle
The Indianapolis Colts are trading three-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle DeForest Buckner back to the San Francisco 49ers. Indianapolis gets a 2027 fourth-round pick, Adam Schefter and Ian Rapoport reported Tuesday.
It's the Colts' second trade of the day. That morning they sent guard Quenton Nelson to Seattle for a 2027 third-round pick and a 2028 fifth (full story). Rapoport called this one "the long-anticipated trade." Buckner was the name most often tied to an Indianapolis sell-off, and earlier Tuesday Schefter said he expected Buckner to go next.
The #Colts are trading 3x Pro Bowl DT DeForest Buckner to the #49ers for a 4th-round pick. Buckner was drafted by the 49ers as a 1st-round pick in 2016 and is now going back to SF.View on X →
Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate): The #Colts are trading 3x Pro Bowl DT DeForest Buckner to the #49ers for a 4th-round pick. Buckner was drafted by the 49ers as a 1st-round pick in 2016 and is now going back to SF.
A homecoming in San Francisco
San Francisco took Buckner in the first round of the 2016 draft and traded him to Indianapolis in 2020. He goes back as an established interior force, and the 49ers get a proven inside rusher for the second half of the season. Longtime 49ers columnist Tim Kawakami pointed to a group that now includes Buckner, Odighizuwa, Halton, James Thompson Jr. and Valdez, with CJ West still to return. He called it "the deepest 49ers DT group since they broke it up in 2019 by... trading Buckner."
What it means for Indianapolis
At 2-5, the Colts are now clearly sellers. They have moved two of their highest-profile veterans for mid-round picks about two weeks before the Nov. 10 trade deadline. They also don't have their own 2027 first-rounder, which belongs to the New York Jets, so these extra picks matter more.
They may not be finished. Rapoport has reported that wide receiver Josh Downs has drawn trade interest, and Schefter has also named defensive tackle Grover Stewart as a possible candidate. Mike Garafolo says a Jonathan Taylor deal is "looking like a no" for now. (Our fire-sale watch has the full list.)