Indianapolis Colts owner Carlie Irsay-Gordon is trying to rebuild the team in her vision. Yet in the past week, she has already made herself out to be a bit of a hypocrite.

It all stems from the statement Irsay-Gordon released after she fired embattled general manager Chris Ballard on Oct. 19. She closed that statement with a promise to the fan base and the locker room:

“I also want to be clear, this decision does not change our goals for the season. We have a lot of football in front of us, and I expect us to compete, improve, and win football games.”

Just nine days later, Irsay-Gordon has shipped off two of the best players on the roster.

Colts trade Quenton Nelson and DeForest Buckner ahead of the deadline

The first domino was All-Pro offensive guard Quenton Nelson, who was probably the best player on the Colts. Nelson has been a foundational piece ever since he arrived in Indianapolis, and he anchored the offensive line for years.

The second was former Pro Bowl defensive tackle DeForest Buckner, another one of the team’s top players. Buckner has been an ageless wonder, and he remains one of the top defensive linemen in the league.

Indianapolis received a 2027 third-round pick and a 2028 fifth-round pick for Nelson. It got a 2027 fourth-round pick for Buckner. Overall, that’s small potatoes for that caliber of players, but NFL trades are tough to pull off. Those aren’t losing trades by any means, but one could certainly argue the Colts could’ve gotten more/better picks for those two players.

The Colts don’t have a first-round pick in the 2027 NFL draft, so those extra selections can help them jockey for position in other rounds. That’s a real benefit. Still, the moves completely contradict what Irsay-Gordon said in her statement.

The timing makes it worse. Irsay-Gordon didn’t wait to find out how much the team could improve over the next couple of weeks before the NFL trade deadline. She let one game pass, which turned into a loss to the Minnesota Vikings, and then she moved two of the team’s best players.

So how exactly does she expect the Colts to improve and win football games when she’s dealing away the best players on the team?

Colts’ fire sale could get worse without a 2027 first-round pick

I don’t think the selling is over, either. Wide receiver Josh Downs, defensive tackle Grover Stewart, and maybe even running back Jonathan Taylor all look like the next names that could go.

If those three players are traded too, you better believe the Colts will be one of the NFL’s worst teams the rest of the way.

The irony is hard to miss. Indianapolis doesn’t have a first-round pick to take advantage of a bad record. Even if the Colts hold a full fire sale, they might not land a first-rounder in return for any of these players. (They should get at least a first-round pick for Taylor, but that move hasn’t been made yet.)

It would be one thing if the Colts finished 3-14 and landed a top-5 pick. However, they don’t own their 2027 first-rounder, so a high pick from a bad season isn’t on the table. And if they do get a first-rounder for Taylor, it’ll likely be from a contender who picks later in the draft.

Sure, one first round pick is better than none. But would it be worth the overall cost of losing one of your best players and finishing with an awful record?

On top of that, waiting another week or two might have made more sense. Maybe Nelson’s and Buckner’s trade value would have increased. Maybe it would have dropped. Regardless, the Colts would have had more information before making such a franchise-altering decision and that would’ve fit better with Irsay-Gordon’s statement about improving and winning games.

Instead, Irsay-Gordon didn’t wait. She pulled the trigger, and the gap between her words and her actions deserves to be pointed out.

With all that being said, it makes sense for Irsay-Gordon to trade these players in the big picture. Indianapolis needs to reset, and stockpiling picks is part of that process.

And, her vision for the franchise remains clear. Now we’ll find out whether she can pull it off in 2026, in 2027, and beyond.