Report only — no deal is done: ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported Wednesday that the Colts’ leading receiver has asked out, and Downs himself would only say he is “open to whatever.”
Read the label first, because it matters: this is a trade REPORT, not a trade. Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Josh Downs has requested a trade, sources told ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, per TSN. Multiple teams have expressed interest in Downs, but the lack of movement on a deal despite the team’s clear rebuilding plan prompted the request, sources told Fowler, per TSN.
What Downs said himself
Downs did not confirm the request outright when reporters asked him about it Wednesday, but he did not deny it either. “I’m open to whatever. Whatever comes my way, come my way and we go from there,” he said, per TSN. He also kept the focus on the week in front of him: “I’m here right now. I’m where my feet are. We got the Jags this weekend and so I’m in the game plan. So, I’ve got to be ready to go,” per TSN.
The contract explains the timing. Downs, 25, is in the fourth year of his rookie deal and is scheduled to become a free agent after the 2026 campaign, per theScore — the same expiring-contract status that made him a fixture on trade-candidate lists well before Wednesday’s report, per NBC Sports. Interim general manager Ed Dodds is the executive fielding the calls, per NBC Sports.
The numbers behind the ask
Downs is Indianapolis’ leading receiver this year with 26 catches for 307 yards and no touchdowns, per theScore, and he has a career-low catch rate of 56.5% of his targets, per TSN. The context matters: he has drawn extra defensive attention with No. 1 wideout Alec Pierce absent and has dealt with inconsistent quarterback play from Daniel Jones, per TSN. His career line says what he is when the offense works — 2,447 receiving yards since the Colts drafted him in the third round in 2023, with a best season of 72 catches, 803 yards and five touchdowns in 2024, per theScore.
The building he is asking out of
Indianapolis is 2-5 and riding a three-game losing streak, per theScore, and the front office already fired general manager Chris Ballard earlier in October, per theScore. Tuesday’s trades of two veteran pillars turned the Colts into the deadline’s clearest sellers, and head coach Shane Steichen admitted the human cost Wednesday: “Anytime you lose guys like that, it hurts. But that’s the NFL and that’s the hard part about it,” per TSN.
Downs may not be the last name in the rumor mill. Star running back Jonathan Taylor has reportedly also garnered interest from the Green Bay Packers, Seattle Seahawks, Denver Broncos and Minnesota Vikings, per theScore — but Steichen said Wednesday that Taylor has not requested a trade, according to ESPN’s Stephen Holder, per theScore. “Those are hypothetical things right now,” Steichen said. “I know there’s stuff floating around out there, but JT’s on our football team,” per TSN. The Colts host the Jacksonville Jaguars this weekend, per RealGM, with the Nov. 10 trade deadline hanging over every snap until then.
The 247 Take — A request is leverage, not luggage: nothing has been traded, agreed or signed, and Downs is still in Sunday’s game plan. But when a 25-year-old leading receiver in a contract year asks out of a rebuild, the deadline usually answers him — and Indianapolis has until Nov. 10 to decide what its future is actually worth.
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Sources: TSN, carrying ESPN reporting (Downs requested a trade, sources told ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler; multiple teams’ interest and the stalled movement behind the request; Downs’ “open to whatever” and “where my feet are” quotes; his 26 catches, 307 yards and 56.5% catch rate; Steichen’s quotes on Taylor and on losing veteran players) | NBC Sports (Fowler’s report; Downs’ expiring contract and trade-candidate status; interim GM Ed Dodds; his career totals of 224 catches for 2,447 yards) | theScore (Downs as the Colts’ leading receiver; his 2024 career-best season; free agency after 2026; the Colts’ 2-5 record, three-game losing streak and Ballard’s firing; Taylor’s reported suitors and Steichen’s answer via ESPN’s Stephen Holder) | RealGM (the request ahead of the deadline; the Colts hosting Jacksonville this weekend; the Nov. 10 deadline)
