Shane Steichen didn’t shut the door on Alec Pierce returning this season, but he came awfully close to confirming what Colts fans have been bracing for: it probably isn’t happening.
Pierce remains on injured reserve in Week 10 after aggravating the heel that required offseason surgery in Week 2, and Indianapolis is sitting at 2-7 with no playoff path left. In that kind of season, there’s little reason to rush him back.
“We’ll see (if Pierce can come back this season). Like I said last week, he’s still in that rehab process, and I’m not going to put a timetable on (his) return.”
That was Steichen’s message to the media on Wednesday, and it fit the larger picture around Pierce’s season. The Colts re-signed the receiver last offseason, then watched him go through surgery that was expected to sideline him for 4-6 months. Even so, he was pushed back into action sooner than he probably should have been, and he didn’t practice fully until just before the season started.
The result has been exactly what the Colts wanted to avoid: a player who clearly wasn’t ready, then got set back again. At this stage, bringing him back would make little sense unless the goal was simply to put him on the field.
The odd part is that Pierce’s tiny sample still stands out on this roster. After Indianapolis traded wide receivers Keenan Allen and Josh Downs this week, Pierce still ranks third among the team’s remaining wideouts with five catches and 72 receiving yards, even though he only played in Week 1 and the first quarter of Week 2.
That says plenty about how thin the receiver group has become.
Long term, though, the Colts should be in better shape if Pierce gets back to full health in 2027. He would immediately upgrade the room, and Indianapolis should also have a chance to add through free agency and the draft. The wide receiver group could look very different by then.
There’s also plenty of uncertainty elsewhere on the roster. Steichen might not be around, and Daniel Jones might not be either. But Jonathan Taylor remains on the roster and wasn’t traded, and Pierce’s return in 2027 would give the offense another piece to build around.
For now, though, the smart call is the obvious one: keep Pierce out the rest of the season. Steichen left the door cracked, but the message was clear enough.
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