Former Indianapolis Colts All-Pro offensive guard Quenton Nelson, who was traded last week to the Seattle Seahawks for a 2027 3rd round pick and a 2028 fifth round pick, will undergo minor cleanup cartilage surgery on his balky knee and be out for at least a few weeks—although he won’t be placed on injured reserve at this time:
The Seahawks have two games and then their BYE week, so the expectation for Seattle is that Nelson could be ready in 3 weeks versus the minimum 4-game period of inactivity that any stint on injured reserve requires before any subsequent activation.
However, he aggravated the knee injury, in the Seahawks’ 34-17 Monday Night loss against the Chicago Bears.
What’s interesting is that both the Colts and the Seahawks seem to be aware of the initial condition of Nelson’s knee, which will likely show up in his physical. Although to be fair, it got worse this past Monday Night.
Perhaps that was some of the temporary excitement and motivation of GM Ed Dodds in moving Nelson before the trade deadline, knowing that the condition of his knee could lead to the perennial All-Pro and pending NFL free agent missing games in 2026. It’s hard to say for sure at this time.
Nelson has been incredibly durable in his Canton-bound NFL career thus far, missing just 4 starts—all of which came during the 2021 campaign with the Colts. We wish Big Q a speedy recovery the rest of the way.