The Seattle Seahawks acquired three-time All-Pro guard Quenton Nelson from the Indianapolis Colts in exchange for a 2027 third-round pick and a 2028 fifth-round pick on Tuesday.
The Green Bay Packers, Chicago Bears and Philadelphia Eagles were among other teams that showed varying levels of interest in Nelson, a source told ESPN's Jeremy Fowler.
Nelson, 30, has made the Pro Bowl in each of his first eight seasons since the Colts drafted him sixth overall out of Notre Dame in 2018, with three first-team All-Pro nods in that span (2018-20). He bolsters a Seahawks offensive line that has struggled at times this season to keep quarterback Sam Darnold upright and consistently open rushing lanes.
Nelson has played only left guard over his first nine NFL seasons. Grey Zabel, Seattle's 2025 first-round pick, is the team's starting left guard, though right guard was among the positions he played in college. Anthony Bradford, who just returned from injured reserve and is in the last year of his rookie contract, has been Seattle's right guard since 2023.
Nelson, who is in the final season of his Colts contract -- which includes a $16 million base salary in 2026 -- did not reach an agreement on an extension before the season. Given the Colts' recent upheaval, beginning with the firing of general manager Chris Ballard last week, they are widely expected to reboot their roster in the coming offseason.
Asked last week whether he had questions about his future in Indianapolis, Nelson stayed focused.
"I have no questions," he said. "I leave that up to God and I'm just focused on being my best and giving my all every single day in everything I do and putting it all out there on the field."
Regarding his time in Indianapolis, he said, "I love it here. Met my wife here. Really appreciate and love this organization. It's been a long career here and made a lot of friendships and bonds here that I don't take for granted."
The Colts are likely to insert rookie Jalen Farmer into the starting lineup. He was seen as a future starter but has been waiting his turn on the bench to this point.
The defending Super Bowl champion Seahawks are 4-3 after their Sunday night win over the Kansas City Chiefs, which puts them two games behind the 6-1 San Francisco 49ers in the NFC West standings.
Seattle's acquisition of Nelson marks another big swing at the trade deadline for general manager John Schneider, who in recent seasons has dealt for impact players such as safety Quandre Diggs (2019), defensive end Carlos Dunlap (2020), defensive tackle Leonard Williams (2023), linebacker Ernest Jones IV (2024) and wide receiver/kick returner Rashid Shaheed (2025).
Another deadline acquisition felt likely this year given all the extra 2027 draft capital the Seahawks have amassed. That includes a projected five compensatory picks for the free agent departures of outside linebacker Boye Mafe, safety Coby Bryant, cornerback Riq Woolen and running back Kenneth Walker III, as well as the Minnesota Vikings hiring former Seattle executive Nolan Teasley to be their general manager.
The Seahawks were excited heading into this season about the continuity along their offensive line, where every starter from 2025 returned. Bradford, though, missed five games with a knee injury, and the line as a whole has not played to its potential. Seattle ranks 21st in pass block win rate (46.8%) and allowed a combined 10 sacks and 26 QB hits in losses to the 49ers and Denver Broncos before a much cleaner performance against Kansas City, when Darnold wasn't sacked and took only two hits.
Left tackle Charles Cross is expected to miss time with an ankle injury he suffered against the Chiefs, which will press Josh Jones into action.
ESPN Colts reporter Stephen Holder contributed to this story.