INDIANAPOLIS – Social media was sent ablaze midday Tuesday as the Colts front office executed a blockbuster trade for two-time First Team All-Pro cornerback Sauce Gardner.
Fourth-year wide receivers coach Reggie Wayne’s lone tweet: a half-full ‘whiskey glass’ emoji, absent any words.
The message was clear.
Second-year wideout Adonai Mitchell had become a trade deadline casualty in the Colts’ pursuit of Gardner, following the significant scale back in Mitchell’s on-field reps and recent benching triggered by a pair of on-field gaffes the 23-year-old committed in Indianapolis’ 27-20 road loss to the Los Angeles Rams on Sept. 28. And Wayne, long a supporter of Mitchell’s – and a vocal one in recent weeks – was torn about the player swap.
“It sucks. I think everybody knows how much I respect AD and his game but that’s the way the business goes. One day, you’re 7-2, and the next day, you’re 1-7,” Wayne told reporters Thursday ahead of Indianapolis’ trip Thursday night to Germany for Sunday’s game against the Falcons in Berlin.
In a follow-up question, Wayne was asked why he felt Mitchell’s tenure in Indianapolis ended after just 26 games. The legendary Colts wide receiver-turned-receivers-coach chuckled and paused a couple seconds before gathering himself. “That’s a bait question,” he said. “I don’t know, man, it just didn’t work out, I guess. I wouldn’t say, ‘It didn’t work out.’ His time was up, I guess. It was not my call.
“I’ve never had to witness being part of a trade like that but I guess when that phone call comes, and it’s something you can’t resist, I guess you’ve got to hit the button. I think AD was on-track but it kinda sucks in his place, because he backed up (fourth-year wideout) Alec (Pierce), and Alec is playing so well, so what are you going to do.”
Pierce, the Colts’ deep threat who led the league in yards per catch in 2024 (22.3) and who caught 37 passes for 824 yards and seven touchdowns a year ago, has already surpassed the 500-yard mark in 2025, along with fellow Colts wideout Michael Pittman Jr. and rookie tight end Tyler Warren. Indianapolis is one of just two teams in the league even with two players above 500 yards entering Week 10.
“It’s one of those things where it takes time for receivers, especially when you’re not ‘the guy,’ because when you’re ‘the guy,’ you’re going to get a million targets, but when you’re not, the ball’s going to come sparingly and you’re going to have to (take advantage) of whenever it does come your way.”
Mitchell was in the midst of a career play, a 75-yard catch-and-run at SoFi Stadium that afternoon in September when, in the motion of extending his arm in celebration with the ball in his hand, a step away from the goal line, the ball slipped out and rolled through the back of the end zone to give the Rams a touchback and the Colts a turnover instead of a game-altering play. Later in the game, Mitchell, the second-round pick from 2024, was called for holding on what would’ve been a 53-yard Jonathan Taylor touchdown run – both plays which clearly made a difference in the Colts’ seven-point loss.
Though the young wideout took responsibility for the gaffes immediately after the game, Colts head coach Shane Steichen made clear to reporters that Mitchell would have to earn his way back onto the field. He saw single-digit snaps in the fourth quarter of the following week’s game, only in the fourth quarter of a 30-plus-point blowout and because the Colts were short on healthy wideouts.
Mitchell was benched for the team’s four-point win the following week against the Cardinals, and in the four games since he’d seen just four targets and caught two balls for 15 yards. Following his return to the field, Mitchell spoke to reporters last month and spoke frankly about the uncertainty of never knowing when he might play his final offensive snap and feeling expendable on a deep roster with Super Bowl aspirations.
Tuesday’s trade deadline action proved he was – at least in the eyes of the Colts front office.
“It’s not a great feeling, just like it’s not a great feeling when you lose a player in the offseason to free agency but it all works the same,” Wayne said. “I just try to sum it up as this is how it’s going to feel when all my kids leave the house, and I become an empty nester. It’s going to be a gut-punch, but it’s a celebration at the same time.
“The Jets got a special talent. I talked to him before he left (on Tuesday), and I talked to him last night, and he’s in good spirits. I think AD will do well over there. It’ll be an opportunity for him to get some reps, and I think that’s what he needed. I think he’ll win over that team. I think the guys respected him here, and I think he’ll do well.”
Joel A. Erickson and Nathan Brown cover the Colts all season. Get more coverage on IndyStarTV and with the Colts Insider newsletter.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Colts receivers coach Reggie Wayne on trade of Adonai Mitchell: ‘It sucks’
Reporting by Nathan Brown, Indianapolis Star / Indianapolis Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
