Chiefs acquire WR Josh Downs in trade with Colts to fill their biggest need, AP sources says

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Kansas City Chiefs are acquiring wide receiver Josh Downs from the Indianapolis Colts for a pair of draft picks, filling their biggest position of need two days after Xavier Worthy sustained a hamstring injury in their win over the Jets, two people familiar with the deal told The Associated Press on Tuesday.

The Chiefs sent their fourth- and fifth-round picks in next year's draft to Indianapolis for Downs and a seventh-round pick, according to the two people, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the trade was not official until Downs passed a physical.

Downs indicated his approval of the deal on X, formerly Twitter, with his first posting since the summer. Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes was quick to respond with an image of an alarm clock, as in: It’s time to chase another championship.

Earlier in the day, the Colts traded wide receiver Keenan Allen to San Francisco for a sixth-round pick, another person speaking to AP on condition of anonymity said, though Indianapolis did not deal standout running back Jonathan Taylor before the deadline.

The Chiefs lost their top deep threat, Tyquan Thornton, to a potentially season-ending fractured ankle a few weeks ago. Fellow wide receiver Rashee Rice has been prone to injury, missing three games this season to a hamstring injury, while Worthy is poised to miss several weeks as well after grabbing his hamstring in the second half of a 35-12 rout of New York on Sunday.

Kansas City had been rumored to be in the wide receiver market even before Worthy got hurt.

Downs, who is in the final year of his contract, requested a trade a couple of weeks ago, after Indianapolis traded left guard Quenton Nelson to Seattle and defensive tackle DeForest Buckner to the 49ers amid a series of organizational changes.

The Colts' massive sell-off has followed the firing of general manager Chris Ballard, a former member of the Chiefs' front office.

Even after requesting a trade, the 25-year-old Downs had continued to play for Indianapolis, catching three passes for 24 yards in a loss to Dallas last Sunday. The 2023 third-round pick has 33 catches for 354 yards and a touchdown in nine games this season.

Many expected the Chiefs to upgrade at wide receiver this past offseason. Worthy has been underwhelming ever since they spent a first-round pick on the speedster a couple of years ago, Rice has been unable to stay on the field because of injuries and legal trouble, and the rest of their depth chart is filled with young, unproven players.

After missing the playoffs last season, ending a run of three straight Super Bowl appearances, Kansas City is 6-2 heading into its trip Sunday to Atlanta. The Chiefs' defense has been keeping them in games while their offense deals with injuries, including hits to both of their offensive tackle positions, though the outlook at wide receiver looks a whole lot better with Downs in the fold.

He's caught 231 passes for 2,494 yards and 12 touchdowns over parts of four seasons in Indianapolis.

In many ways, the rest of the season could be an audition for Downs in Kansas City, too. He's due to hit free agency, and Chiefs general manager Brett Veach has shown a willingness to sign players he has acquired in trades to new contracts.

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AP Sports Writers Michael Marot in Indianapolis and Josh Dubow in Santa Clara, California, contributed.

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