Colts trade DT DeForest Buckner to 49ers for draft pick - ESPN

The San Francisco 49ers acquired three-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle DeForest Buckner from the Indianapolis Colts in exchange for a 2027 fourth-round pick Tuesday.

This is the second major trade the Colts made with an NFC West team on Tuesday, following the trade of eight-time Pro Bowl guard Quenton Nelson to the Seattle Seahawks.

This marks a return to San Francisco for Buckner. 49ers general manager John Lynch has called trading Buckner to the Colts in 2020 the most difficult decision of his 10-year tenure on the job. On Tuesday, he righted that wrong.

Buckner immediately bolsters an injury-ravaged defensive line on the heels of a loss in Atlanta in which the 49ers pressured Falcons quarterback Michael Penix Jr. on just three of his 34 dropbacks.

Buckner, 32, is entering the final year of his deal with the Colts and slated to become an unrestricted free agent after the season. Had Buckner signed this offseason with another team, the highest compensatory draft pick the Colts could have received was a 2028 5th-round selection being that he is an 11-year NFL veteran. With the trade, the Colts netted a 2027 fourth-round pick instead.

He was visibly angry after the Colts' third straight loss on Sunday, at the Minnesota Vikings.

Asked his reaction to the team's recent struggles, he uncharacteristically snapped at a reporter, saying, «I don't know. How about you guess. I'm frustrated. Same thing. We lost.»

Buckner remained consistently loyal to the Colts through years of late-season collapses, signing multiple extensions with the team and maintaining his faith in the roster building of now-fired general manager Chris Ballard.

But his patience seemed to be wearing thin. After the Vikings loss, Buckner was asked what needed to