Colts WR Josh Downs trying to play both sides after trade request: ‘I’m here right now’

INDIANAPOLIS — Josh Downs has put himself in a strange position with the Colts.

Downs requested a trade last week, an indication that he’d like to escape an Indianapolis roster that is in the early stages of a rebuild, but no deal has materialized yet.

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He will man the slot in Indianapolis until a trade comes, and if the Colts do not find a trade partner before the Nov. 10 deadline, Downs will play out the final year of his rookie deal in Indianapolis.

Visibly frustrated last week, Downs tried to strike a different tone this week, although he declined to get into his reasons for the trade request.

“I was just open to whatever,” Downs said. “I’ll keep that between me and my close peoples, but I’m going to leave it there. I’m focused on this week. We play the Cowboys.”

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See Colts receiver Josh Downs through the years

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See Colts receiver Josh Downs through the years

Downs played 46 snaps in the rain in Jacksonville last week, more than any player on the Indianapolis offense other than starting quarterback Daniel Jones and the offensive linemen, who never come off the field.

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He caught four passes for 23 yards and a garbage-time touchdown.

Downs also drew criticism for failing to jump on an ill-advised, errant pitch from a stumbling Jonathan Taylor on a reverse, a play the fourth-year receiver acknowledged he should have made.

“I’ve got to do a better job of getting on that ball,” Downs said.

Downs was supposed to take on a bigger role in Indianapolis this season.

The Colts traded away Michael Pittman Jr., opening up opportunities for the team’s big-money splash at wide receiver, Alec Pierce, but also for Downs.

Former Colts general manager Chris Ballard brought up Downs to anybody and everybody who would listen this offseason, predicting that his slot receiver was going to take the next step into stardom.

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Downs has instead failed to live up to Ballard’s billing. Halfway through the season, Downs ranks third on the Colts with 30 catches, although he does have the team lead with 330 receiving yards. The absence of Pierce, stemming from an offseason heel injury that he aggravated, has allowed defenses to walk their coverage close to the line of scrimmage, limiting room for players like Downs to get open.

He has also frequently been the focus of double teams.

“I wouldn’t say it’s tougher to operate,” Downs said. “We’ve just got to execute better.”

Asking for a trade puts a brighter spotlight on Downs until there’s a resolution.

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During the week, the Colts clearly plan to continue treating Downs as if nothing happened.

“It may not be a thing that’s individually said to each one of us coaches or his teammates,” offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter said. “We try to take everything at face value a little bit and just go about putting together a good work week.”

His teammates seem to understand.

When the Colts traded Quenton Nelson to Seattle and DeForest Buckner to San Francisco last week, the organization made it clear Indianapolis is headed into a period of transition, and that means more big moves could be coming.

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Moves like the one Downs tried to initiate by asking for a trade after the Nelson and Buckner deals.

“Josh, that’s like my brother,” Colts wide receiver Laquon Treadwell said. “Whether he’s out there with us on Sundays making plays and doing what he does, or requesting a trade, that’s not going to change how we view him, how we look at him, and just how he go about his work.”

But the trade request is there.

It’s hard to ignore. Nearly every story or TV segment about the Colts is centered around trade speculation.

“I try to leave it, like, not as a distraction,” Downs said. “It’s out there, but it is what it is. I’ve got to just focus on right now, that’s what’s important.”

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Downs is a free agent after this season.

Whether he’s traded by the deadline or not, he has to put good plays on tape to land the deal he likely covets in free agency.

“This is the team that drafted me, and I’m under contract, so I’m here right now, and I’ve got to focus on that,” Downs said. “I’ve got to be better than I was last week.”

What happens after that is almost entirely up to the Colts front office.

Joel A. Erickson and Nathan Brown cover the Coltsall season. Get more coverage on IndyStarTV and with the Colts Insider newsletter.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Colts WR Josh Downs trying to play both sides after trade request: ‘I’m here right now’

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