There are few players held in higher regard throughout the Indianapolis Colts locker room than defensive tackle DeForest Buckner, and he made it clear he’s not going anywhere.
With a rumor circulating Wednesday night that Buckner “wants to play for a contender and could be traded,” the All-Pro defensive tackle made sure to clear the air before anything got too far.
Referencing the “I’m not leaving” scene from “The Wolf of Wall Street” was all Buckner needed to say. And of course, doing so in a classy way without all the profanity from the scene.
I need you to check your sources @nflrums pic.twitter.com/DvF4FYBDBI
— DeForest Buckner (@DeForestBuckner) March 23, 2023
Buckner is the engine of the Colts defense and one of the most revered players in the locker room. He’s one of Chris Ballard’s favorite players, and the only way he would be traded is if the team was heading in a tear-it-down type of rebuild.
His contract does offer the Colts a chance to save some money against the salary cap, though, if they wanted to go that route. Buckner has a cap hit of $19.75 million for the 2023 season but only $1 million is guaranteed. He has no guaranteed money in 2024, which is the final year of his contract.
The Colts could restructure his contract by converting part of his base salary into a signing bonus, which would spread that money over the course of the next two seasons, thus lowering the cap hit. They could even extend Buckner to a new deal after 2023 if his play on the field is still strong, spreading the money over more years.
Regardless, there haven’t been any notions of the Colts seriously considering a trade surrounding Buckner, and his response to the rumors means he’s sticking around, which is a good thing for the defense and the locker room as a whole.
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