When the New England Patriots agreed to a trade with the Indianapolis Colts that brought tight end Dwayne Allen to town, it made history. No, it wasn't because the Pats inexplicably agreed to send Tom Brady or Bill Belichick back in return. Nothing quite that crazy happened. This trade made history because it was the first trade ... of any kind that has been struck between the two teams in over three decades. The last time New England and Indianapolis Colts swung a trade was a whopping 32 years ago. The Dwayne Allen trade could be signaling a cosmic shift in the relationship between the two teams.
Cold war seems to be over
One of the reasons the New England Patriots and the Indianapolis Colts have not made a trade since 1985 is because the front offices of both teams simply didn't like each other that much in recent years. The rivalry between the two teams got much more heated, according to ESPN in the early 2000s and the animosity between the squads stayed in place. Bill Polian and Bill Belichick were both to blame for the cold war between the teams. With Polian gone, it looks like the Pats might be looking to take advantage of the change in leadership in order to make the relationship better for both teams. With first-year general manager Chris Ballard at the helm, trades might start to go down a bit more.
Trading has never been brisk between the two clubs
While there is a lot of attention on the Dwayne Allen trade, the fact of the matter is there has never been much action between the New England Patriots and the Indianapolis Colts. Back in 1985, the Pats sent linebacker Tim Golden to the Colts, in exchange for a 1986 draft pick.
Before that trade went down, there were only two other deals between the two franchises. Both of those deals were made in the 1970s when the Colts were still calling Baltimore home. This deal leaves just one more team the Pats need to make a deal with during the Belichick era in order to get all 31. New England has struck a deal with every team in the league during this era but the New York Jets.
