Wide receiver Josh Downs was granted his request for a trade, jumping from the Indianapolis Colts to the Kansas City Chiefs on Tuesday.
The Chiefs traded fourth- and fifth-round picks in 2027 to acquire Downs, primarily a slot receiver in Indy, and pad a depth chart severely dented by injuries. Kansas City also received a 2027 seventh-round pick in the deal.
A fire sale for the Colts began in the wake of the firing of general manager Chris Ballard in October. All-Pro guard Quenton Nelson was traded to the Seattle Seahawks, defensive tackle DeForest Buckner went to the 49ers and wide receiver Keenan Allen was part of a Tuesday swap with the San Francisco 49ers before the Downs move became official.
Downs is in the final year of his contract — a four-year, $5.52 million rookie deal — and becomes a free agent in March unless Kansas City offers him an extension.
Defenders are hugging the line of scrimmage to attack Chiefs running back Kenneth Walker III. Downs represents a counter for quarterback Patrick Mahomes and head coach Andy Reid.
Downs had seven receptions for 72 yards in the Colts’ 33-30 loss at Kansas City in Week 2.
The Chiefs have only one wide receiver with more than 25 receptions this season. Xavier Worthy shares the team lead with tight end Travis Kelce (33), but he’s averaging only 8.4 yards per catch. Rashee Rice has 25 receptions for 292 yards but missed three games with a hamstring injury.
Worthy has not posted a reception of 20-plus yards in four consecutive games and has only one such catch this season (41 yards at Las Vegas).
Deep threat Tyquan Thornton averaged 19.9 yards on 11 receptions before a season-ending ankle injury at Las Vegas on Oct. 4.
Downs had 33 receptions this season for the Colts and averaged 10.7 yards per reception with one touchdown. He led Indianapolis in receptions in 2024, hauling in 72 passes for 803 yards (11.2 -yard average) with five touchdowns.
Last season, Downs had 58 catches for 566 yards and four touchdowns but was limited by injuries.
