The Indianapolis Colts sent three-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle DeForest Buckner to the team that drafted him, the San Francisco 49ers, in exchange for a 2027 fourth-round pick, ESPN and NFL Network reported Tuesday.
The move comes on the same day the Colts traded another major player to an NFC West team in eight-time Pro Bowl guard Quenton Nelson, 30, who was traded to the Seattle Seahawks earlier Tuesday in exchange for a 2027 third-round draft pick and a 2028 fifth-round selection. That deal is pending a physical exam.
Buckner’s four sacks this season ties Adetomiwa Adebawore for most on the Colts but is more than any Niners player this season.
In San Francisco, the 32-year-old will start alongside Osa Odighizuwa at tackle and aim to help an injury-ravaged defensive line that has played much of this season without end Nick Bosa (calf) and Sam Okuayinonu (foot) and tackles Alfred Collins (patellar tendon), C.J. West (knee) and James Thompson Jr. (ankle).
Despite the injuries, the 49ers stand at 6-1, while the Colts have struggled to a 2-5 record, prompting visible frustration from Buckner after Sunday’s 16-10 loss to the Minnesota Vikings.
When asked by reporters for his reaction to the team’s recent struggles, he snapped, “I don’t know. How about you guess. I’m frustrated. Same thing. We lost,” and when asked what needed to change, he said, “I don’t know. I can’t tell you.”
Buckner previously signed multiple contract extensions to stay in Indianapolis despite late-season collapses. He is entering the final year of his latest deal with the Colts and is set to become an unrestricted free agent after the season.
Buckner has 75.5 sacks, 11 fumble recoveries and 683 tackles in 158 games (153 starts) with San Francisco (2016-19) and Indianapolis. The 49ers drafted him with the No. 7 overall pick in 2016, and San Francisco general manager John Lynch called trading Buckner to the Colts in 2020 “the toughest thing I’ve done since I’ve been a general manager here.”