Alec Pierce turned down more money elsewhere to stay in Indianapolis this offseason. Two weeks into training camp, the Colts still can’t say when he’ll actually play.
Pierce remains on the physically unable to perform list as the team opens its second week at Grand Park, and head coach Shane Steichen isn’t offering a firmer timeline than he did when camp started. That’s according to ESPN Colts insider Stephen Holder, whose reporting was cited by ClutchPoints.
“Steichen said he still does not have any clarity on when No. 1 receiver Alec Pierce might return to the lineup after offseason ankle surgery,” Holder wrote, per ClutchPoints.
General manager Chris Ballard told reporters in late July that Pierce would need a “week or two” on the PUP list. That window has now technically closed, and Pierce hasn’t practiced yet.
What We Know About the Ankle
Pierce had surgery on the ankle in March, a procedure that also sidelined him for offseason minicamp. The issue dates back further than that. Pierce has said the ankle started bothering him toward the end of the 2024 season and got progressively worse through 2025, eventually forcing him to miss practice time before doctors identified the problem and operated.
He didn’t let it show up on the stat sheet. Pierce played through it and still turned in the best season of his career.
Why the Colts Paid Him $114 Million Anyway
Indianapolis could have let Pierce walk in free agency. Instead, the team locked him up on a four-year, $114 million contract that includes $84 million in guarantees, $60 million of it fully guaranteed at signing, making him the highest-paid free agent receiver in NFL history at the time of the deal. Pierce reportedly turned down more money from other teams to take it, according to prior ClutchPoints reporting.
The bet is straightforward. Pierce has led the NFL in yards per catch in back-to-back seasons — 22.3 yards per reception in 2024, 21.3 in 2025 — and caught a career-high 47 passes for 1,003 yards and six touchdowns last year despite the ankle. Few receivers stretch a defense the way he does when he’s on the field.
| Season | Catches | Yards | Yards/Catch | TDs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | — | 824 | 22.3 (NFL best) | 7 |
| 2025 | 47 | 1,003 | 21.3 (NFL best) | 6 |
No Reason to Panic Yet
Players can come off the active PUP list at any point during the preseason without missing regular-season games. The only real deadline is the roster cutdown to 53 players on August 30. If Pierce is still unable to go at that point, he’d shift to reserve/PUP and be forced to miss at least the first four games — a scenario nobody in the building is currently describing as likely.
Pierce isn’t the only name on the list. Rookie linebacker CJ Allen started camp there too, dealing with a calf issue that’s considered more minor.
What It Means for Week 1
Indianapolis opens the regular season at home against the Baltimore Ravens on September 13. That gives Pierce roughly five weeks from today to get back on the field, ramp up, and be ready. Steichen has previously said the plan was always to bring him along in camp rather than push him back in July, and the coach reiterated this week that he likes the direction of the recovery even without a hard date attached to it.
Until Pierce is running routes again, Josh Downs and Michael Pittman Jr. carry the receiver room, with the offense still figuring out its identity around quarterback Daniel Jones as he works back from a torn Achilles that ended his 2025 season early. Steichen is entering a season with real stakes of his own — he has yet to reach the playoffs as Colts head coach, and Indianapolis collapsed down the stretch last year, losing its final seven games after an 8-2 start.
For now, the Colts are treating Pierce’s recovery as a matter of patience, not panic. Whether that patience is still available come Week 1 is the question training camp hasn’t answered yet.
