After trading DeForest Buckner, Quenton Nelson,…

Here’s the thing you should understand when a team trades two franchise pillars in a matter of hours.

For the players inside the Colts’ locker room, yes, it’s weird to have DeForest Buckner and Quenton Nelson’s lockers sit empty, stripped of the nameplates above them with each player’s gear and mementos shipped with them to the Bay Area and Seattle, respectively.

“Seeing it is definitely tough,” left tackle Bernhard Raimann, whose locker has been next to Nelson’s since he arrived in 2022, said.

But players don’t make it to the NFL, or stick in the NFL, by concerning themselves with things out of their control.

And so the Colts’ trades of Buckner and Nelson on Tuesday, for the players still on the team, can’t impact how they begin preparing Wednesday to face the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday.

“Our mentality is still the same,” tight end Tyler Warren said. “We go out and prepare to win each game and do our best to be ready each week. So as far as the way we’re going about the week, I don’t think it changes much for us. Obviously, they’re two great players, so that’s something — guys got to step up and fill their roles. But as far as preparation, stuff like that, I’d say it’s still a similar week.”

As Warren alluded to, though, Tuesday’s deals weren’t your run-of-the-mill pre-deadline trades. Buckner and Nelson were load-bearing players for the Colts, guys who were outstanding players on the field and tremendous leaders off it. Both had been voted team captains in six consecutive seasons.

And both players left a lasting impact on their now-former teammates.

“The energy and effort (Nelson) plays with, and he plays the game the right way, and that’s something I try to do,” Warren said.

“Buck’s meant a lot for my career, (for) this team,” defensive tackle Adetomiwa Adebawore said. “I’ve looked up to him, his example on and off the field, his consistency.”

But removing them from the locker room amid a 2-5 season, a five-season playoff dry spell and a dozen-season AFC South drought was an organizational acknowledgement of where the Colts’ future is heading.

“Anytime you lose those guys, they’re tough to replace, but we’ve got to understand that we’re in a business, and this is a business,” head coach Shane Steichen said. “And there’s tough decisions that have to be made in a franchise. And everyone’s got a job to do and we all signed up for it, and we get paid to go do a job and we’ve got to improve and get better every single day.”

Whether or not the Colts will make more trades prior to Nov. 10’s 4 p.m. deadline remains to be seen. The reality is the Colts have lost three games in a row, dismissed their general manager last week and just traded two Pro Bowlers – so anything can happen in the next few weeks.

But that reality also isn’t taking away from the focus and preparation Colts players have heading into Week 8.

“It’s tough losing guys that you’re close with, especially leaders like that,” safety Cam Bynum said. “It’s hard to see the leave, but obviously we have to just move on and continue to work and make sure that we stay focused on matter what’s going on outside of our control as players.

“… I’m just worried about the next practice, next walkthrough, next film session that we have and all of that is out of our control. Obviously we know that the franchise — the trade deadline is coming up, so there’s lots of things that players can’t control. The whole league, everybody’s going to be making moves, but our job is to focus on what’s in front of us.”