CBS Sports’ Colts trade rumor could lead to WR deal with Steelers, Bills or Broncos originally appeared on The Sporting News.
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The Indianapolis Colts are widely expected to be buyers ahead of the NFL trade deadline on Tuesday, but there is at least one player the team could sell.
CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones believes it’s possible the Colts will actually trade away a player and he adds that teams are monitoring the status of wide receiver Adonai Mitchell, which obviously opens the door for him to be traded.
“The needs for Indy before their loss to Pittsburgh were cornerback and edge rusher, in that order. I would not rule out the Colts potentially trading a player, either. I have heard from teams who are monitoring second-year receiver Adonai Mitchell, who has two catches on four targets since the start of October,” Jones said. “Mitchell was a second-round pick in the 2024 draft.”
A second-round pick of the Colts in 2024, Mitchell has yet to be much of a factor in the Colts’ offense over his season-plus in the NFL and is on the road to being a bust.
Mitchell had just 23 catches for 312 yards during his rookie campaign, and he has just nine catches for 152 yards this season.
The Texas product also found himself in the dog house recently, when he dropped the ball before crossing the goal line for a would-be touchdown, leading to the second-year wide receiver getting benched in Week 6.
The Colts are very deep at wide receiver with Michael Pittman Jr., Alec Pierce and Josh Downs, so that has played a factor in Mitchell’s lackluster career.
It also means Indy can afford to unload Mitchell, who they clearly don’t have much use for, anyway.
Mitchell could be of interest to teams looking for a bargain addition with some upside. He’s still just 23 years old and perhaps a change of scenery to a less-crowded wide receivers room could propel him to better things.
The Pittsburgh Steelers, Denver Broncos and Buffalo Bills have been three of the teams most commonly rumored to be in the market for wide receiver help, and all three were mentioned in Jones’ report.
The Steelers need a No. 2 for quarterback Aaron Rodgers, and while Mitchell is far from guaranteed to address that need because of how unproven he is, he could be a fallback option for Pittsburgh if all else fails.
The Bills have very limited cap space, so adding a cheaper wideout like Mitchell could be an option, although like the Steelers, the Bills need to go bigger.
Denver could take a flyer on Mitchell if they believe he’s capable of more, but we would suggest the Broncos would prefer a more proven player given their already young wide receivers room.
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