Colts Trade DeForest Buckner Back to 49ers for 2027 Fourth-Round Pick

The Indianapolis Colts traded defensive tackle DeForest Buckner back to the San Francisco 49ers on Tuesday, October 27, in exchange for a 2027 fourth-round draft pick, the Colts announced.

Buckner, 32, is in the final year of his contract. He returns to the team that selected him with the seventh overall pick in the 2016 draft and employed him for his first four seasons, from 2016 through 2019.

San Francisco traded Buckner to Indianapolis in 2020 for the 13th overall pick in that year’s draft. The Colts then signed him to a four-year, $84 million contract extension. He has 75.5 sacks in 11 NFL seasons. Four of those sacks came in seven games in 2026, according to USA Today. He has 312 pressures since joining Indianapolis.

Second Colts trade in one day

The Buckner deal came hours after Indianapolis traded guard Quenton Nelson to the Seattle Seahawks. The Colts sent Nelson to Seattle for a 2027 third-round pick and a 2028 fifth-round pick earlier on Tuesday.

The two trades came one week after the Colts fired general manager Chris Ballard. Indianapolis is 2-5 this season and does not hold a first-round pick in the 2027 draft, after sending that pick to the New York Jets last season as part of the deal for cornerback Sauce Gardner. The Nelson and Buckner trades added a third-round and a fourth-round pick for 2027, plus a fifth-round pick for 2028.

USA Today reported that interim general manager Ed Dodds may not be finished before the trade deadline on November 10, and named running back Jonathan Taylor, wide receiver Josh Downs, and defensive tackle Grover Stewart as players on expiring contracts who could draw interest.

What Buckner gives San Francisco

San Francisco is 6-1 after its first loss of the season on Sunday in Atlanta, and the team is off in Week 8, which gives Buckner extra time to settle in with his new team, USA Today noted.

The 49ers have dealt with injuries on the defensive line this season. End Nick Bosa is hurt, and tackle Alfred Collins suffered a season-ending knee injury during the team’s trip to Australia at the start of the season. First-round pick Mykel Williams only recently returned after a torn ACL ended his rookie season early.

Buckner played in Super Bowl 54 with San Francisco at the end of the 2019 season, a 31-20 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. Tight end George Kittle, a teammate of Buckner’s in San Francisco from 2017 through 2019, celebrated news of the reunion on X, USA Today reported.

Buckner will become an unrestricted free agent after the season if he does not sign a new contract before then.

Reporting based on coverage by USA Today and the Indianapolis Colts.