This week, after a brutal blowout loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars, talk around the Indianapolis Colts will centre on Jonathan Taylor, Daniel Jones, Shane Steichen, and any additional trades the embattled franchise could make by next week's NFL trade deadline.
Last week, the Colts front office already got to work on the trade front, shipping off two long-time franchise veterans, Quenton Nelson and DeForest Buckner. Colts fans have already seen Nelson in action with the Seattle Seahawks and will see Buckner with the San Francisco 49ers in the coming days.
In Indianapolis, all fans see is a giant mess Buckner will no longer be part of. Instead, he's joining a Super Bowl contender, and one of, if not the league's best teams, through eight weeks. On his Colts exit, however, Buckner couldn't have been more cordial when speaking publicly for the first time about how it all came together.
Former Colts' star DeForest Buckner appreciates that he was able to go somewhere he wanted to be
Buckner had given so much on and off the field to the Colts over his six-and-a-half seasons, and not just the team, but the fans and community in the city of Indianapolis. It was only right that the front office, namely, Carlie Irsay-Gordon, heard the veteran out about his preferred landing spots in a trade.
Today, Buckner is back where his NFL career started, in San Francisco, on a Super Bowl trajectory. But before he has an opportunity to put on a 49ers jersey again, Buckner recently spoke about his former team, detailed his exit, and expressed gratitude for how the trade went.
"They wanted to make sure I went to a place where I wanted to be and I have nothing but respect for Carlie, her family, for Dodds, and everybody in that building," Buckner said in a San Francisco 49ers press conference this week. "I formed great relationships there. They held their end of the bargain and at the end of the day, I wanted to be here and they made it happen."
Before that statement, Buckner said that before the trade, he had spoken with Irsay-Gordon and other Colts executives, meaning he got the heads-up and wasn't traded in the middle of the night like so many other players are these days.
The Pro Bowler and All-Pro Team member will join a 49ers defense with a couple of their own highly awarded defensive players. Fred Warner and Nick Bosa have earned 14 combined Pro Bowl nods and All-Pro Team selections over their careers, and Buckner already played with both players during his first California stint.
While he steps into a winning situation, Buckner leaves the Colts on the verge of a complete rebuild after this season. As Indianapolis tries to put the pieces back together, Buckner will compete for a chance to win the Super Bowl, and right now, the 49ers are leading the race. What he adds to their team should only increase their odds.
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