The Indianapolis Colts are battered and bruised, but they still find themselves in the middle of the hunt for a playoff spot as the season continues to get underway.
While the Colts lost starting right guard Will Fries for the remainder of the season due to a fractured right tibia, the right side of the offensive line remains stable with Braden Smith holding down the edge.
Despite the clear need to have Smith in the lineup to protect quarterback Anthony Richardson, Cody Benjamin of CBS Sports believes the Colts could ship off the veteran right tackle to the Chicago Bears.
In proposing a trade idea for each team ahead of the NFL trade deadline, that's exactly what he suggested from the Bears' perspective.
"Caleb Williams is making strides, but it'd help if his offensive front was sturdier. Smith has been a solid starter for Indy for a while, but his contract makes him expendable for a rebuilding club," Benjamin wrote.
Suggesting this proposal implies the Colts would be willing to part ways with Smith, which is highly unlikely.
Even if the Colts are labeled as a rebuilding team, they need Richardson to get as many reps as possible. Increasing his chances of injury, which are high enough as is, by trading away one of the league's top right tackles would be an extremely questionable move.
The Colts don't have any issues with the salary cap so dumping Smith's contract wouldn't be worth a trade for what would likely be a late Day 2 draft pick at best.
