The Colts are heading into the final stretch before their Sept. 13 opener against Baltimore with a short list of injury questions, and Alec Pierce sits at the top of it.
Pierce, who has been working back from offseason ankle surgery, finally returned to practice on Thursday and was on the field again Tuesday when the media got its first look. That’s a big step for a player who missed nearly all of training camp and has been the most uncertain piece of the Colts’ receiving group.
General manager Chris Ballard said the team is encouraged by what it has seen so far.
“It’s good to have him back out there, got a good day of work today,” Colts general manager Chris Ballard said. “We’ll see going forward, but we’re hopeful. We’ll see how it ends up landing.”
Pierce tried to avoid surgery at first, using a platelet-rich plasma injection the day after the 2025 season ended. When the ankle was still bothering him two months later, he had surgery in late March.
“We found out it had something bone-wise that was causing issues, so we went ahead and got rid of the issue so I didn’t continue to hurt myself,” Pierce said.
Ballard had originally suggested Pierce might only miss the first week or two of camp, but doctors told Pierce the recovery would take four to six months. With camp beginning early in that timeline, he’s now about five months into the process and finally back on the grass.
“Everybody’s rehab’s a little bit different,” Ballard said. “He’s progressing to a point.
He’s worked really hard, he’s pushed really hard and he’s progressing really nicely. We think we’re in a good spot, and we’ll see how it continues to progress over the next 10 days.”
The Colts also had several other familiar names moving around in practice. Tight end Tyler Warren, slot receiver Josh Downs and outside receiver Alec Pierce were all seen during the portion open to reporters. Warren is coming off a mild groin strain suffered in the team’s first joint practice against Atlanta, while Downs said he sat out last week’s work for precautionary reasons.
Rookie offensive guard Jalen Farmer also returned after missing last week with a knee issue.
Not everyone was available, though. Rookie strong safety A.J. Haulcy, veteran cornerback Jaylon Jones and newly-acquired center Sedrick Van Pran-Granger were the only Colts who did not participate.
Haulcy is the one name in that group who could directly affect the starting lineup. The rookie spent most of camp working as the strong safety next to Camryn Bynum, but he’s been out for the last week with an ankle injury. If he can’t go, second-year safety Hunter Wohler would likely take his place.
“I don’t know yet,” Ballard said. “He’s progressing really well, so that’ll be a better question for next week. He’s progressing well.”
For now, the Colts are still hoping their opener plan includes most of the pieces Daniel Jones is supposed to lean on. The biggest test is whether Pierce and Haulcy can keep trending in the right direction over the next 10 days.
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