INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The reality stung inside the Indianapolis Colts locker room Wednesday.
Right guard Matt Goncalves and defensive tackle Adetomiwa Adebawore walked in and saw the locker stalls next to theirs cleaned out and stripped of the nameplates for left guard Quenton Nelson and defensive tackle DeForest Buckner, two team captains traded to NFC West teams Tuesday.
The fallout came Wednesday.
Coach Shane Steichen fielded questions about his job status, players were asked whether they believed the trades signaled Indy had given up on this season and everybody wondered what might happen next.
“I'm day by day. I mean, I'm here right now,” wide receiver Josh Downs said Wednesday. “Like I said, I'm open to whatever, whatever comes my way comes my way and you go from there.”
Downs has asked to be traded, a person with knowledge of the situation later confirmed to The Associated Press. The person requested anonymity because the team does not typically make those requests public.
The bigger question is where do the reeling Colts (2-5), losers of three straight, go from here?
Over the previous 10 days, the Colts blew a 13-point halftime lead against previously winless Tennessee and left the field to a chorus of boos. The next day, team co-owner Carlie Irsay-Gordon fired general manager Chris Ballard, making assistant general manager Ed Dodds the replacement.
Quarterback Anthony Richardson, who Ballard took with the No. 4 overall draft pick in 2023, was charged last week with misdemeanor possession of marijuana.
Then came an eighth consecutive road loss at Minnesota, which prompted more questions about whether Daniel Jones would remain the starting quarterback. And then the trades of two Pro Bowlers who were pillars in the locker room just hours apart.
“I didn't sugarcoat it,” Steichen said when asked about how he addressed the team. “Anytime you lose those two guys, they're tough to replace. But we've got to understand we're in a business, and in this business, there are tough decisions that have to be made. Everyone has a job to do. We all signed up for it, and we get paid to do a job, and we've got to improve and get better every single day.”
How they'll get better is hard to fathom given where they currently stand.
Rookie Jalen Farmer, a fourth-round pick, is expected to replace Nelson, a three-time All-Pro. Adebawore, the fourth-year veteran having a career year, will be plugged into Buckner's old spot.
“I’m sorry we couldn’t get the job done but just know that I poured my heart and soul into the organization and the community the best way I knew how to,” Buckner said in a social media post. “God bless!”
Steichen declined to say whether either Nelson or Buckner — or both — asked to be dealt. He said he would keep those conversations private. But Steichen also said flatly that running back Jonathan Taylor, their top remaining asset, has not requested a trade.
Taylor is scheduled to meet with reporters Thursday though his wife, Ayanna, has expressed her thoughts on social media.
“Will we make it to game day?” she said in a video. "Or was last week the last time my husband will be putting on a Colts jersey?”
Steichen's job, meanwhile, also could be in jeopardy because Irsay-Gordon brought back the Steichen-Ballard pairing in January with the expectation they would end a five-year playoff drought or there would be consequences.
Ballard didn't even make it through the season, and now Steichen must win with what remains on the roster.
“Those are two guys that embodied everything we stand for as an organization,” All-Pro cornerback Sauce Gardner said before addressing what message the deals sent to the rest of the Colts. “We want to win. We want to put our best product out there. We want to dominate each and every game, so that's our message.”
Plenty of questions continue to linger, though.
Jones has struggled since signing a two-year contract extension worth $88 million in March, and Richardson has made two trade requests over the past year.
Top receiver Alec Pierce went on injured reserve during Week 3, and it's unclear when — or if — he'll return this season. Six-time Pro Bowl receiver Keenan Allen still could be suspended for the drunken driving charges he faces and an already thin secondary got even thinner this week when cornerback Cam Taylor-Britt went on injured reserve.
In the meantime, Irsay-Gordon is clearly looking toward the future as she collects draft picks to rebuild the team despite not having a first-round pick in April. That selection was traded to the New York Jets at last year's trade deadline for Gardner.
Yet players and coaches say they're not ready to throw in the towel as they prepare to visit defending AFC South champion and current division leader Jacksonville (4-2). The Colts have lost 11 straight road games against the Jaguars.
“I'm worried about getting ready for Jacksonville,” Steichen said when asked about his job security. “If I focus on something else — I'm not — I'm doing a disservice to our football team.”
And aside from reflecting on the impact their now ex-teammates made, the remaining Colts kept the focus on the task at hand.
“It's sad because a piece of our group is missing,” Goncalves said. “We're going to miss them, but our focus has to, you know, remain on Jacksonville. We've got to move past it, move forward, prepare the same, get ready to go dominate.”
See AP’s full NFL coverage here
FILE - Indianapolis Colts offensive lineman Quenton Nelson looks on before an NFL football game against the Seattle Seahawks, Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Stephen Brashear, File)
NEW YORK (AP) — The bond market swung, while U.S. stocks held relatively steady after the Federal Reserve decided not to raise its main interest rate to bring down high inflation. The S&P 500 rose 0.3% Wednesday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.2%, and the Nasdaq composite rose 0.3%. In the bond market, the two-year Treasury yield initially jumped after the Fed held its main interest rate steady. It then reversed course after traders pared expectations for coming hikes to rates. Higher rates can help get high inflation under control, but they can also hurt the economy.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back for updates. AP’s earlier story follows below.
NEW YORK (AP) — The bond market swung Wednesday, while U.S. stocks held relatively steady following the Federal Reserve ’s decision not to raise its main interest rate to bring down high inflation. The bond market’s moves indicated traders see less of a chance of hikes to rates in the future that would help ease inflation but could also hurt the economy.
The S&P 500 rose 0.1% after drifting between small gains and losses through the day, both before and after the Fed's decision. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 70 points, or 0.1%, as of 3:30 p.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.1% lower.
The action was much stronger in the bond market, where the yield on the two-year Treasury initially climbed after the Fed announced its decision to hold rates steady. It got above 4.79% from 4.70% late Tuesday after the Fed said two officials actually wanted to raise the federal funds rate at their meeting, only to get outvoted by their peers.
The central bank last month raised its main interest rate for the first time in three years in hopes of bringing down inflation, which has remained above the Fed’s 2% target for years and has been discouraging Americans broadly.
But the two-year Treasury yield, which closely tracks expectations for Fed action, quickly reversed course. It dropped as low as 4.69% after Fed Chairman Kevin Warsh said the central bank wants to see how conditions play out before making its next move on rates.
He pointed to how rates for loans going to businesses and others across the economy have already climbed recently and how lenders and investors have become “more discerning.” He said the overwhelming judgment among Fed officials at their meeting was that “monetary medicine” is “starting to work some.”
Along with signals that the U.S. economy continues to grow, Warsh said that “broadly, these developments go in the direction” of helping the Fed achieve its two goals of a healthy economy and relatively low inflation.
Traders on Wall Street still see further increases to rates by the Fed as likely, but they pared back bets for how many may come by next summer, according to data from CME Group.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury, which moves on expectations for inflation and economic growth in upcoming years, had its own yo-yo moves following the Fed's meeting but was largely steadier. It rose to 5.04% from 4.99% late Tuesday.
Higher rates push downward on stock prices, which has raised the pressure on companies to deliver growth in profits to counteract that. Several companies rallied Wednesday after joining the list of those beating analysts’ expectations for the summer.
GE HealthCare Technologies jumped 6.4% after delivering both profit and revenue for the summer that surpassed analysts’ expectations. It also raised its forecasts for revenue growth and other financial measures for the full year.
Etsy climbed 6% after its profit for the latest quarter blew past analysts’ forecasts. CEO Kruti Patel Goyal said the online marketplace saw growth in active buyers from prior-year levels for the first time in two years, while its active seller base grew at its fastest rate in two years.
Stocks in the artificial-intelligence industry were also relatively solid. They’ve stabilized this week following big swings on worries that high borrowing costs will undercut the boom in AI data centers largely built with borrowed money.
AI stocks got an additional boost after a major player in the industry, South Korea’s SK Hynix, soared 10.9% in Seoul following its latest profit report. The seller of memory chips said it’s in the midst of a virtuous cycle of rising AI usage, and it expects demand to continue to outpace supply through 2030.
On Wall Street, Micron Technology rose 5.4% and was the strongest force lifting the S&P 500. It also sells memory for computers.
Outside of tech, Wendy’s jumped 14.6% to $7.04 after Trian Fund Management, run by investor Nelson Peltz, offered to buy the chain for $7.35 per share in cash.
That helped offset a drop for Boston Scientific, which fell 4.1% even though the seller of medical devices reported a milder drop in profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. It gave a forecast for profit in the current quarter that fell short of analysts’ expectations.
Robinhood Markets sank 3.9% after reporting weaker profit and revenue for the latest quarter than analysts expected.
In stock markets abroad, South Korea’s Kospi jumped 6.6% following SK Hynix’s leap. Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 1.1%, while France’s CAC 40 edged down by less than 0.1%.
AP Writer Elaine Lai contributed to this report.
A screen displays a news conference by Federal Reserve Board Chairman Kevin Warsh on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
FILE - Traders Joseph Stevens, left, and Robert Arciero work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Monday, Feb. 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, file)
FILE - Trader Daniel Kryger works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Monday, Feb. 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)
Employees work near the screens showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), the foreign exchange rate between the U.S. dollar and the South Korean won, and the Korea Securities Dealers Automated Quotations at a dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
A dealer stands near the screens showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) and the foreign exchange rate between the U.S. dollar and the South Korean won in a dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
A dealer walks near the screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) in a dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
