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The Indianapolis Colts continued moving players Tuesday, trading defensive tackle DeForest Buckner to the San Francisco 49ers for a 2027 fourth-round draft pick.
The Colts announced the trade Tuesday afternoon. Buckner returns to a 49ers team that selected him with the No. 7 pick in the 2016 NFL Draft.
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A two-time All-Pro and three-time Pro Bowler, Buckner was traded to the Colts in March 2020 after four seasons with the 49ers. In 95 career games in Indianapolis, he recorded 63 total tackles and 47 sacks.
Now he's back on a 6-1 49ers team with aspirations to compete for a Super Bowl title this season. He provides an immediate upgrade to a defensive line that's also expecting All-Pro pass rusher Nick Bosa to return soon.
General manager John Lynch told reporters Tuesday the 49ers anticipate Bosa to return from a calf injury after the team's Week 8 bye. Bosa hasn't played since injuring his calf in practice prior to Week 3.
San Francisco now expects to come out of the bye to face the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 9 with Buckner and Bosa on its defensive line.
Another move out of Indy after post-Chris Ballard
The trade of Buckner continues a roster purge in Indianapolis on the heels of last week's dismissal of general manager Chris Ballard .
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After moving guard Quenton Nelson to the Seattle Seahawks earlier Tuesday, Colts interim general manager Ed Dodds is continuing to stockpile draft picks in order to rebuild the roster. The two trades have netted the Colts third- and fourth-round picks in 2027 and a fifth-round selection in 2028.
A 2-5 record and three straight losses have put the organization in a position to wave the white flag and look toward 2027.
Buckner expressed his frustration with the Colts' lack of success this season following the Week 7 loss to the Minnesota Vikings. That came a week after saying , "I'm sick and tired of the same song and dance every year," after losing to the previously winless Tennessee Titans.
Buckner, 32, is in the final year of his contract and, after receiving a $10 million roster bonus in March, is still owed a little under $8 million for the rest of the season. He carries a $26.6 million salary cap hit, which will leave $10.8 million in dead money on the Colts' books, according to Over the Cap .
If he wasn't moved before the Nov. 10 NFL trade deadline, he was all but certain to leave in free agency.
