One of the greatest players in Colts history, Marvin Harrison submitted a dominant career en route to All-Decade honors for the 2000s and the Hall of Fame. The longtime Peyton Manning target played all 13 seasons of his career in Indianapolis.
The all-time great’s son debuted in the NFL 28 years later but has not moved onto the superstar trajectory yet. Marvin Harrison Jr. has struggled to justify his draft slot in Arizona, and a host of trade rumors have emerged involving the third-year Cardinals wide receiver. Thus far, no teams have been connected to the former No. 4 overall pick. Though, the Colts now should be one of the destinations to monitor here.
Teams are doing due diligence on the former Ohio State star, per ESPN.com’s Stephen Holder and Josh Weinfuss, and the Colts appear on the radar. Indy “would entertain” the idea of trading for the legacy wide receiver.
Harrison, 24, is on a rookie contract through 2027 and could be controlled through 2028 via the fifth-year option. Harrison has not taken off in Mike LaFleur’s offense yet, totaling five receptions for 85 yards in four games. A disappointing second season preceding this sluggish start has led to rumblings he could be on the move before the November 10 deadline.
The Colts went from rostering a receiver surplus at the 2025 trade deadline to being gutted at the position less than a year later. Indianapolis traded Adonai Mitchell to the Jets last November and sent Michael Pittman Jr. to the Steelers in March. The Pittman trade was largely about getting the veteran off the payroll so the Colts could afford deals for Alec Pierce and Daniel Jones. Indy paid both players, but Pierce missed nearly all of the Colts’ spring and summer work while rehabbing from surgery. The deep threat reinjured his heel in Week 2 and is expected to miss extensive time recovering from the nagging ailment.
Josh Downs is the last man standing from Indianapolis’ previous quartet, and the team added stopgap veterans in Keenan Allen and Darius Slayton. Allen, 34, missed Week 4 with a groin injury. Allen also faces a potential 2026 suspension after a DUI arrest late this summer.
This would certainly be a fascinating pursuit. Even though the younger Harrison did not go to high school in Indianapolis, attending school in his father’s hometown of Philadelphia, the family is obviously quite familiar with the Colts’ inner workings. The older Harrison starred in Indianapolis from 1996-2008 and holds franchise records in receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns nearly 20 years after retiring.
It would be interesting to see the Colts execute another big trade, considering the hot seats on which Chris Ballard and Shane Steichen appear to sit. Ownership approval would come into play at this point, as the Colts have missed the past five playoff brackets. Ballard’s contract is up at season’s end.
The Cardinals are not shopping Harrison, per ESPN, and LaFleur said following the team’s loss to the Giants his “confidence is high in Marv.” Harrison missed five games due to injuries last season and said in June he had not fully recovered from the heel maladies in both feet. The struggles after his rookie season have led to rumors about unremarkable trade value being tied to this particular Arizona asset, with a third-round pick perhaps the centerpiece of a trade package. Just more than a month remains until the deadline, and Harrison will be one of the top names to monitor.
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