The Colts’ long-term plans for pending free agent WR Alec Pierce are reportedly changing.
The plans that the Indianapolis Colts had for wide receiver Alec Pierce beyond the 2025 season seem to be changing.
Pierce is currently playing out the final year of his rookie deal and is set to be a free agent in 2026.
In a recent report from ESPN’s Stephen Holder, he wrote that the Colts had decided “long ago” that re-signing Pierce after this season “was not financially prudent,” given the makeup of the wide receiver market.
However, that no longer seems to be the case. Holder would add that “the idea of him (Pierce) returning is now very real.”
This season, Pierce has caught 28 passes for 585 yards with a touchdown and continues to provide that big-play presence to the Colts’ offense, averaging 20.9 yards per catch.
But while it’s Pierce’s downfield ability that garners the attention, his role this season has expanded as well, with him being asked to run a greater variety of routes and doing so at different levels of the field.
The big plays are certainly important, but Pierce’s impact this season has been expanded, and that has likely played an important factor in the Colts’ newfound willingness to keep him on the team beyond this season.
In addition to that, AD Mitchell would have been an ideal substitute to step in and fill Pierce’s role if he did end up elsewhere this offseason. But with Mitchell now in New York, there is no longer a direct replacement for Pierce on the roster.