The Kansas City Chiefs have acquired wide receiver Josh Downs from the Indianapolis Colts in exchange for 2027 fourth- and fifth-round draft picks, according to multiple reports, in one of the final deals before the NFL's 4 p.m. ET trade deadline on Tuesday. The Colts also sent a 2027 seventh-round pick to Kansas City. The deal was first reported by The Ringer, with the Indianapolis Star and other outlets confirming the terms shortly afterward.
Downs, 25, has 33 catches for 354 yards and a touchdown in nine games this season. His best season came in 2024, when he posted 803 receiving yards and five touchdowns in 14 games. The Colts selected him in the third round of the 2023 NFL Draft, and he is in the final year of his rookie contract.
Downs had requested a trade in late October and had expressed ambivalence about remaining in Indianapolis, according to the Indianapolis Star. Kansas City had emerged as the frontrunner for the slot receiver in the days before the deadline, with the Pittsburgh Steelers also in the mix, after the Chiefs turned their attention to Downs when Jacksonville proved unwilling to move Brian Thomas Jr.
For Kansas City, the deal adds a proven slot receiver for quarterback Patrick Mahomes as the Chiefs push toward the postseason. Downs gives the offense a sure-handed target over the middle of the field, the kind of receiver who has thrived in Kansas City's timing-based passing game.
For Indianapolis, the trade is the latest step in a full-scale sell-off. The Colts have already dealt guard Quenton Nelson to Seattle, defensive lineman DeForest Buckner to San Francisco and veteran receiver Keenan Allen to the 49ers during a five-game losing streak. Star running back Jonathan Taylor, however, is staying put: the Colts declined offers that included a second-round pick and more, according to The Ringer's Tom Pelissero, and will revisit his future in the offseason.
