Colts Trade for Buccaneers Linebacker

On a day when hundreds of NFL players will be looking for a new home, the Indianapolis Colts apparently saw enough in Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker Grant Stuard to trade for him. NFL Insider Tom Pelissero announced the move earlier this morning:

The #Bucs traded LB Grant Stuard and a 2023 seventh-round pick to the #Colts for a 2023 sixth-round pick.

— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) August 30, 2022

Stuard played primarily special teams as a rookie since entering the league as a seventh-rounder in the 2021 NFL Draft. Though the compensation does not speak to the Colts seeing him as a major investment, it's still a surprisingly aggressive move considering the sheer volume of special teams capable players coming available in the hours before the NFL's 53-man roster cutdown deadline.

Photo Credit: © Douglas DeFelice-USA TODAY Sports

The Colts and Buccaneers just finished playing each other in the final week of the preseason, so maybe Indianapolis saw something they liked about Stuard. The linebacker earned a reputation as a high-energy, infectious personality in the lead-up to the 2021 NFL Draft.

Photo Credit: © Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports