Indianapolis Colts Trade Deadline Review

It wasn’t a secret that the Colts were coming into this week looking to add to their defense. The biggest question was, what position would it be? Rumors flew about a possible reunion between Cincinnati Bengals defensive lineman Trey Hendrickson and Colts defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo. The Colts made numerous calls to the Bengals about a possible deal, but an agreement was never reached. Hendrickson was the only name the Colts were heavily linked to. However, with the Colts missing on Hendrickson, they put all their chips in on another piece. A solid cornerback is another need the Colts had to fill, and that’s what they did. At about 12:44 p.m. Eastern time, NFL Senior Insider Ian Rapoport announced Sauce Gardner had been traded to the Colts.

The addition of Gardner fills the Colts’ need in their secondary. Injuries have ridiculed the secondary since training camp. They have tried to piece together the secondary with plug-and-play guys, but nothing caught on. The All-Pro level corner adds stability and ability to an already impressive Colts secondary. Gardner gets inserted into a corner back room containing Kenny Moore, Charvarius Ward, and Jaylon Jones. The duo of Ward and Gardner as outside corners will cause fits for opposing offenses. With Gardner and Ward in the outside slots, this will slide Kenny Moore to the inside corner slot. A place where Moore has succeeded heavily. This leaves Jones playing the fourth corner slot, where he will match up with teams’ lesser receivers. This plays well for the Colts, considering Jones has had success locking down some of the game’s best receivers. But what did this move cost the Colts?

The Cost

A trade of this magnitude is costly. As stated before, the Colts parted ways with a 2026 and 2027 first-round pick and wide receiver Adonai Mitchell. Is that an overpay for a corner? Depends on the situation. The Colts view themselves as in “win now” mode. Basically, they see themselves having all the pieces they need to be able to compete for a Super Bowl. Another point is that a team never knows what a draft pick will pan out to be. Why not go out and get a proven player while the Super Bowl window is open? The Colts will have Gardner under contract until 2030. Ultimately, the Colts will have two first-round picks before Gardner’s expires, barring any trade made by the team while he is still under contract. For the two years the Colts won’t have a first-round pick, Gardner will make an immediate impact.

Impact

The trade for Gardner impacts the Colts in multiple ways. The addition immediately makes the Colts’ defense one of the best in the league. Parting ways with Adonai Mitchell shows that the Colts have plans to bring back wide receiver Alec Pierce. Giving up two first-round picks also says that the Colts are all in on their quarterback, Daniel Jones. Again, draft picks may never be what they are promised to be. If a team can get an All-Pro caliber player who is under contract for multiple years, it’s probably a good idea to pull the trigger.

Colts’ fans know that the team rarely goes out and makes a move like this. Clearly, ownership and other front office personnel view this team as a Super Bowl-contending team. Otherwise, they would not have gone out and made a move like this. The Colts wanted to make a splash, and they did. This Colts trade deadline review scores as an A+. All together, the Colts and Lou Anarumo are trying to find a recipe for an elite defense, and they just added the “Sauce”.