The Colts may be staring at a serious problem in their passing game after Alec Pierce was carted off with an apparent left heel injury against Kansas City.
Pierce, Indianapolis’ top downfield threat, left the game after the injury and was ruled out for the rest of the night. ESPN reported that initial X-rays were negative, and the receiver is set to be evaluated further Monday.
The timing is especially concerning because Pierce has already been managing a heel issue for the last two weeks. That injury was apparently tied to his recovery from offseason ankle surgery to repair a bone issue that had been causing pain in his left ankle.
Pierce had said the surgery was expected to take about six months for a full recovery, while Colts general manager Chris Ballard initially said he would be back one to two weeks into training camp. Instead, Pierce didn’t return until two weeks before the regular season.
He was eased back in during the opener, playing only 32 snaps, and had said the team wanted to increase his workload against Kansas City.
The injury happened on the Colts’ third drive. Pierce ran a route, planted on his left leg and pushed toward the sideline, then pulled up and began hopping with his left leg in the air.
Trainers helped him off the field, and he was unable to put weight on the leg. From there, Colts doctors took him to the blue tent for evaluation.
That evaluation stretched on. Pierce remained in the tent through the rest of Indianapolis’ drive and through Kansas City’s next offensive series. When he finally came out, he sat in the front seat of a cart and was driven off.
If Pierce misses time, Indianapolis loses the one receiver defenses have to worry about vertically. He signed a four-year, $114 million contract this offseason because of his ability to stretch the field, and over the last two seasons he has averaged more than 21 yards per catch on 84 receptions. His presence forces safeties to stay deeper, which opens things up underneath for Tyler Warren, Josh Downs and Keenan Allen.
Without him, the Colts don’t have another established deep threat.
Laquon Treadwell is Pierce’s primary backup, but the 31-year-old is not the kind of receiver who changes how defenses line up. Rookie Deion Burks has the speed to play that role outside, but he is a seventh-round pick. Ashton Dulin, the veteran special teamer who could also threaten downfield, was out Sunday night because of injury.
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