Seahawks show desire to protect Sam Darnold with recent trade

With the Indianapolis Colts realizing it's time to think about the future, the Seattle Seahawks saw an opportunity to address a need. 

On Tuesday, the Seahawks traded for Pro Bowl guard Quenton Nelson in exchange for 2027 third-round pick and a 2028 fifth-round pick, per ESPN's Adam Schefter and NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. 

Seahawks know they have to protect Sam Darnold if they hope to repeat 

Despite sitting in a playoff position at 4-3, the defending Super Bowl champions knew they had a clear weakness that needed to be addressed if they were going to compete for the NFC West crown and have a real shot a repeating. 

Quarterback Sam Darnold, who suffered an injury off a sack in the season opener that caused him to miss the next week's game, has endured 19 sacks in total, including five against the Denver Broncos on Oct. 15. This is an obvious issue as Seattle's chances hinge on Darnold returning to his 2025 form, and caused the interest in acquiring more protection for the two-time Pro Bowler. 

Quenton Nelson became available after failing to reach a new deal with the Colts

When Nelson, 30, became available due to being in the final year of his current contract, the Seahawks jumped at the chance of bring in another veteran offensive lineman. 

A three-time first-team All-Pro and eight-time Pro Bowler, Nelson has been with the Colts since being selected with the sixth overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft. The Notre Dame product also earned three second-team All-Pro honors during his tenure in Indianapolis. He's played in all 17 regular season games in four-straight years. 

Now, he'll head to Seattle to try to help the Seahawks repeat as Super Bowl champions.