The Colts could be moving one of their most underutilized weapons before Tuesday’s deadline.
Adam Schefter of ESPN.com reports that multiple teams have reached out to the Colts regarding a possible trade for running back Nyheim Hines. The leak, coming on the eve of the closing of the annual trade window, could be calculated toward getting the best offer on the table by 4:00 p.m. ET tomorrow.
The Colts, at 3-4-1, are still alive. Do they really want to be? They’ve made the business decision to bench former MVP Matt Ryan. They could make a business decision to part ways with Hines in order to stockpile picks and, along the way, ease into the bathtub of a non-obvious tank for a potential franchise quarterback in the draft.
Hines has 43 touches in seven games this season, an average of just over six per game. For a tailback making $3.3 million in base salary, that’s not enough usage to justify the salary.
And so Hines enters the conversation for potentially mobile tailbacks, including Browns running back Kareem Hunt, Rams running back Cam Akers, and 49ers running back Jeff Wilson Jr.
Stephen Holder of ESPN.com writes that “odds are good” for Hines to be traded. Per Holder, the Colts haven’t gotten the offer they want yet, but that there’s a “strong feeling” they might.
For now, the word is out. Anyone who wants Hines needs to make their move, soon.
If Sunday was his last game in Indy, Hines finished with 49 yards from scrimmage and a touchdown. He’s been on the team since 2018, and he’s under contract through 2024.
