The Colts still have a hole to fill at wide receiver, and the search for a third option behind Alec Pierce and Josh Downs may not be over yet.
Ashton Dulin is currently sitting in that WR3 spot, but he may not be the best answer Indianapolis has available. The more intriguing possibility could be sitting in free agency: Deebo Samuel.
Samuel, now 30, spent 2025 with the Washington Commanders and was there only for one season. Before that, he had a much more productive run with the San Francisco 49ers.
He’s not a classic outside receiver, and he’s not going to push Downs out of the slot, but his versatility is exactly what makes him interesting for the Colts. He can move around the formation, and at times he can even function out of the backfield alongside Jonathan Taylor.
In 2021, Samuel scored eight rushing touchdowns for the 49ers.
The receiving numbers tell a mixed story, but not a useless one. In seven NFL seasons, Samuel has topped 892 receiving yards only once, and that came in 2021 when he finished with 1,405. Still, he has been reliable when targeted, catching 66.7 percent of his career targets.
His 2025 season with Washington never really got a fair shake. Quarterback Jayden Daniels was injured early, Terry McLaurin also missed time, and an offense that was supposed to be dangerous never fully came together. Samuel ended up in a system that didn’t maximize what he does best.
What stands out now is that he’s still unsigned. For a player who is only 30 and hasn’t been ineffective, that’s a little surprising. He’s had his strong opinions about his teams at times, but he hasn’t been the kind of locker-room problem Brandon Aiyuk has been in San Francisco.
For Indianapolis, the fit is obvious enough. Samuel would be an upgrade over every Colts receiver not named Alec Pierce or Josh Downs, and he would force defenses to account for another real weapon. He could also give Shane Steichen more ways to disguise formations, including the possibility of lining up Samuel and Jonathan Taylor together in the backfield.
The biggest question is money. Spotrac pegs Samuel’s market value at $15.8 million for each of the next two years, which feels steep given his age and the fact that no team has taken the plunge yet. A deal closer to $10 million per season, though, is a number the Colts should be willing to put on the table.
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McCarthys profile does not exactly scream clean solution, either. He has battled injuries, is still trying to prove he can hold down an NFL job, and comes with a contract that would ask Indianapolis to pay more for a quarterback who might not be any more settled than the one already on the roster. With Riley Leonard also in the mix, the Colts may have a cheaper and simpler answer in-house, which is why this latest quarterback link feels less like a fix and more like another reminder of how unresolved the position still is. [Read more 🡒]
Shane Steichen Just Gave Colts Fans A Troubling Alec Pierce Update
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The uncertainty matters because Pierce was expected to use the offseason to get back on track, not spend it rehabbing a surgery that has already pushed his timeline into the summer. For a Colts offense trying to build continuity, every missed practice rep counts, and the closer this recovery gets to the start of the regular season, the more the team has to think about how it will manage his workload if he does make it back on time. [Read more 🡒]