2 trade targets on the rebuilding Colts that the Lions should call about

The trade deadline is already kicking off with quite the bang, with the Indianapolis Colts dealing eight-time Pro Bowl guard Quenton Nelson to the Seattle Seahawks in exchange for a 2027 third-round pick and a 2028 fifth-round pick, per The Ringer's Tom Pelissero.

They then traded defensive tackle DeForest Buckner to the San Francisco 49ers, per Pelissero, for a 2027 third-round pick.

The Colts are an obvious seller at the deadline. They've begun a high-expectation season 2-5, with no relief in sight. With the team also having sent their first-round pick for 2027 to the New York Jets in exchange for Sauce Gardner at last year's deadline, their losing does nothing for their draft positioning. So, it's time for them to begin shopping their premium talent.

That includes cornerbacks Charvarius Ward and Sauce Gardner, two players that the Lions should seriously consider calling the Colts up about ahead of the deadline.

Lions should try to net Gardner or Ward from Colts' fire sale

Regarding Ward, some reservations might include his age (30) and his serious concussion history. This season, however, he's played in all seven games for Indianapolis, and has picked up five pass deflections total. He's also only allowing a 65.1 passer rating this year, which is good for 21st in the league amongst cornerbacks.

Another cornerback the Lions could, and should, ask about is Sauce Gardner, although Ward has been the better cornerback of the two. Additionally, Ward is an on expiring deal, while Gardner carries a $20 million cap hit in 2026 alone. Gardner has seen an unbelievable drop off from a far better start to his career, which should give fans some pause about writing him off entirely.

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Detroit could probably net one, or both, of these defenders for additional 3rd-round compensation. This would be a small price to pay for the Lions to gain a starting cornerback next to D.J. Reed, although with Gardner, you have the issue of paying him out the rest of the four years remaining on his extension.

Restructuring is one idea there, but you don't want the Lions to see all this cap spending kicked down the road if they're not getting an immediate ring or two out of the ordeal. With that being a pretty unpredictable outcome, it's best to bank more on a defender like Ward, who'd be a rental towards those Super Bowl aspirations.

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