The Seattle Seahawks have made the first major move of the 2026 NFL Trade Deadline period, and it honestly could not be for a bigger name as of now. The Seahawks have traded two draft picks to the Indianapolis Colts for Quenton Nelson, a future Hall of Fame guard who is slated to be a free agent this offseason.
When the Indianapolis Colts fired General Manager Chris Ballard a couple of weeks ago, it was natural to wonder if the team would sell at the deadline, with a ton of reports coming in from all over the NFL landscape indicating that a 'sell mode' was likely.
And with Nelson now headed to the NFC West, the Seahawks just added a key piece to the offense who could make the already jam-packed NFC that much more uncertain.
The Seattle Seahawks have made the first major move of the 2026 NFL Trade Deadline period
It's a third-round pick and a fifth-round pick in the 2027 and 2028 NFL Drafts, respectively, heading to Indy for Nelson, an eight-time Pro Bowler who has missed just four games in his NFL career.
Trade: Colts have agreed to send eight-time Pro-Bowl guard Quenton Nelson to the Seattle Seahawks, per me and @rapsheet. Nelson is on an expiring contract and the Colts are opting to get back draft capital now before they could lose him in free agency.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) October 27, 2026
But an all-time Colt now… pic.twitter.com/uKlAEYkPnZ
Nelson has made the Pro Bowl every year of his career thus far and will now enter a Seahawks offense averaging 113.7 rushing yards per game thus far. Seattle averaged 123.3 last year, so they're a bit less efficient without Kenneth Walker III.
Seattle also ranks just 13th in points scored per game with 24 points per contest. Last year, they ranked 3rd with 28.4 points per game. And as for Sam Darnold, he is much less efficient this year as he was last year, as he has seen drops in completion percentage, touchdown percentage, interception percentage, success rate, yards per game, passer rating, QBR, and sack percentage.
Darnold and the offense have simply not been nearly as good, and with interim GM Ed Dodds having spent time with Seattle, the connection was already there. Seattle does have more issues outside of the offensive line, but getting Nelson in the mix should help the run game, should give Darnold more time, and should, in the end, create a smoother operation.
Seattle is 4-3 on the year and already falling behind in the NFC West, but this move does make the division and the conference as a whole a lot less certain, as Nelson's addition should have this offense playing better football rather quickly, and if that does happen, Seattle is going to look a lot like they did in 2025, when they won the Super Bowl.
There is also a chance that the Seahawks give Nelson a contract extension, as he is a free agent at the end of the season and is still young enough to warrant paying on a multi-year extension.
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