Eight days after the Indianapolis Colts fired general manager Chris Ballard, interim GM Ed Dodds walked downstairs from his office and hung an ‘everything must go’ banner across the front doors of the Indiana Farm Bureau Football Center.

Now, it’s been a few years since I last took a stroll through downtown Indianapolis, so I cannot confirm or deny reports that Dodds was also standing out front on Tuesday spinning one of those massive cardboard arrows you see high Mattress store employees wielding to folks stuck in snarling traffic or kids spin around in front of their charity car washes.

Regardless, Dodds sold off two of the Colts’ most valuable trade assets and best players for pennies on the dollar, 15 days before the NFL trade deadline.

In what was simultaneously the beginning of a full-fledged Colts fire sale and the opening salvos of an NFC West Line of Scrimmage Arms Race, Indianapolis offloaded All-Pro offensive guard Quenton Nelson to the Seattle Seahawks and All-Pro defensive tackle DeForest Buckner to the San Francisco 49ers.

Game on.

Buckner has the chance to change the entire landscape of the NFC race.

“They’re inserting a top tier interior lineman into the heart of that defense,” an NFC North Defensive Coach tells Between The Hashmarks, on the condition of anonymity to speak freely about another team. “He immediately gives them added length and a dominant interior pass rush.”

In all likelihood, Dodds’ and the Colts’ sell, off that’s relatively whiplash-inducing just 356 days after Ballard flipped two first-round picks to the New York Jets for All-Pro cornerback Sauce Gardner, is far from finished.

“The Colts could be about to have a fire sale,” one veteran personnel executive tells Between The Hashmarks. “I’d look for Grover Stewart to potentially be a fit for a contending team needing a defensive tackle.”

That was certainly a prophetic call, in Monday Morning’s 4 Downs column (once again, Between The Hashmarks subscribers were ahead of the curve, consider supporting independent journalism and subscribing today!!)

Stewart would certainly make a lot of sense for the Chicago Bears to plant alongside Grady Jarrett in Dennis Allen’s pressure factory.

Likewise, the Atlanta Falcons could be buyers, filling a pressing need along the defensive line off their upset over the San Francisco 49ers putting them within striking distance of the Carolina Panthers for the NFC South lead.

The 49ers also got ahead of the deadline rush by reuniting with a familiar face who could instantly create even more havoc in a front-seven loaded with assassins, but might not even be done after acquiring Buckner.

Let’s take a look at the impact the Nelson and Buckner trades could have on the Seahawks, the 49ers, and the landscape of the NFC West, and some additional names to watch who could be on the move from their current teams over the next two weeks leading up to the NFL trade deadline.

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The Trade: Seattle trades a 2027 third-round pick and 2028 fifth-round pick in 2028 for All-Pro offensive guard Quenton Nelson

After a statement victory over the Chiefs that saw Seattle’s defense keep Patrick Mahomes out of the red zone for the first time in his career, Kansas City to the lowest point total (3) of the Mahomes era, and defending Offensive Player of the Year Jaxon Smith-Njigba account for 150 yards and a touchdown, John Schneider and the Seahawks took a big swing hoping to add some big balance offensively.

For as dominant as the Seahawks looked in Week 7 at Lumen, this is still a pretty one-dimensional offense.

Seattle enters Week 8 as the No 17 ranked rushing offense in the league, averaging 113.7 rushing yards per game.

Meanwhile, Sam Darnold and Drew Lock have been sacked 19 times.

Suboptimal.

Worse, in a division that houses Buckner and Los Angeles Rams future Hall of Famer Aaron Donald.

So, the Seahawks flip a third-round pick to rent Nelson for the next three months, as the stalwart guard is playing out the final year of his contract.

As one NFL executive reminds Between The Hashmarks, if Nelson signs elsewhere, the Seahawks would likely get their fifth-round pick back in the form of a compensatory pick and the Colts would up netting a fifth-round pick to make up for losing out on the chance at it.

Moreover, Nelson couldn’t be a better fit for a glaring need for the reigning Super Bowl champions eying an insurgent sprint at a second consecutive Lombardi.

“I think Seattle has a certain identity they want,” a veteran AFC East Personnel Executive tells Between The Hashmarks, on the condition of anonymity to speak freely. “They want to run the ball, and they want to set up play action pass. I think he has an impact in both areas, and I love this deal for Seattle.”

Nelson is a plug-and-play difference maker, who hasn’t allowed a sack yet this season and ranks as Pro Football Focus’ third-highest graded guard in the NFL.

This move unquestionably makes the Seahawks a better football team, and Nelson’s impact might be maximized by running back Zach Charbonnet’s return from a torn ACL that could come as soon as Week 8 against Chicago and rookie Jadarian Price who might be back on the field Monday night against the bears, as well.

Meanwhile, Seattle’s projected $36.6 million in cap space in 2027, and $175.3 million in 2028 could be the right combo to convince Nelson to hitch the remaining years of his prime to what has become a destination franchise in the throes of a Super Bowl window.

The Trade: The 49ers acquire DeForest Buckner, in exchange for a fourth-round pick in the 2027 NFL Draft.

San Francisco was already off to a historically dominant start to the season, was sitting atop the DVOA rankings entering the 49ers’ bye week, but general manager John Lynch knows a bargain when he sees one, and netted a significant impact player by bringing Buckner back.

Renowned pass rush guru and former NFL linebackers coach Chuck Smith didn’t mince words, when I asked him how significant the addition of Buckner boosts the 49ers’ front-seven.

“He brings instant protection adjustments for opponents with his ability to win one-on-one matchups,” Smith tells Between The Hashmarks. “You will need to game plan for him, commit assets his way, and know where he’s at on every snap.

“He can rush anywhere across the defensive line. His chop hump move is deadly, due to his ability to rush the edge of an offensive guard and counter when the guard oversets.”

Lynch essentially dropped a longsword alongside Nick Bosa for Raheem Morris to wield with abandon.

Buckner is in the midst of one of the most dominant seasons of a career that’s already yielded a pair of All-Pro seasons, three Pro Bowl nods, and 75.5 sacks in his first 158 games since being chosen by the 49ers with the No. 7 overall pick in the 2016 NFL Draft.

Through the first seven weeks of the 2026 season, Buckner leads all defensive tackles with six sacks, while adding 20 quarterback pressures.

Landing back in the Bay Area, on a defense that’s currently holding opponents to just 299.3 yards of total offense per game, as the No. 4 rated unit in the league, despite posting just 15 sacks, Buckner may just be a missing piece to a Super Bowl run.

“He is one of the most underrated pass rushers of his era,” Smith says. “The last point that makes him a great fit for the Niners is that he’s hungry as hell to win a ring.”

Dodds and the Colts might not be done tearing the franchise down to the studs and selling off everything not bolted to the floor for draft capital.

This week has made Indianapolis a far less attractive destination, though, for prospective general managers and head coaches, given the caliber of players at vitally important positions that have already been traded away combined with the lack of a franchise quarterback or a first-round pick in 2027.

Indianapolis is probably far from done wheeling and dealing, too.

Wednesday afternoon, wide receiver Josh Downs officially requested a trade, according to a report from ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler.

Downs would make a lot of sense for a contender such as the 49ers looking for injury insurance depth or the NFC East leading Giants hoping to keep surrounding quarterback J.J. McCarthy in their push to win a division no one seems interested in contending for.

Then, there’s Jonathan Taylor.

With the Colts in the midst of what seems to be a complete tear down, and especially after trading away one of the premier interior linemen in the sport, in what world does it make sense to keep a 27-year-old running back with two years and around $44 million remaining on his contract around?

If Dodds can fetch even a second-round pick in 2027 for Taylor, Indianapolis has to explore the chance to move on.

Taylor would automatically position the Giants as the team to beat in the NFC East in 2026 and open a window for at least the next two seasons.

Meanwhile, if Taylor were in the backfield in Minnesota, the Vikings would finally have a viable running back that would create some crowded boxes as safeties creep towards the line of scrimmage which should in theory open up some opportunities over the top for Kyler Murray to finally start connecting with Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison.

Imagine the impact Taylor’s presence makes, as a chains-mover and game-shortener, for a team whose defense is holding opponents to just 12.3 points per game through seven weeks.

Then, there’s the Denver Broncos, who boast one of the premier offensive linemen in the sport, a defense that enters Week 8 holding opponents to 20.8 points per game.

Taylor could be what the Broncos need to open up the playbook for quarterback Bo Nix, or at least create a spark for an offense that has been wildly inconsistent.

The overarching point here is that if the Colts are as open to trading Jonathan Taylor as they should be, Dodds and Indianapolis should expect a robust market.

After trading away Buckner and Nelson the Colts now have 10 picks in 2027, including two third-round picks (their own and Seattle’s), two fourth-round picks (their own and San Francisco’s), two fifth-round picks (their own, and a projected compensatory pick), and two seventh-round picks (their own, and the Buffalo Bills’).

Indianapolis doesn’t currently have a first-round selection, but whoever the next general manager is, will at least have several additional picks to wield in trades to move around the board as the Colts look to land some of their preferred targets as each round develops.

The Colts also now are expected to have the fourth-most cap space in the NFL in 2027 ($97.8 million), a figure that balloons to $253.9 million in spending flexibility in 2028, which could make for a rather swift turnaround over the next two offseasons.