{"id":730029,"date":"2026-02-05T00:34:17","date_gmt":"2026-02-05T00:34:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/730029\/"},"modified":"2026-02-05T00:34:17","modified_gmt":"2026-02-05T00:34:17","slug":"michael-pittman-jr-makes-opinion-on-colts-clear-amid-uncertainty","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/730029\/","title":{"rendered":"Michael Pittman Jr. Makes Opinion on Colts Clear Amid Uncertainty"},"content":{"rendered":"<p id=\"inline-text-1\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6h\">The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/nfl\/colts\/onsi\/news\/colts-quiet-strength-could-decide-2026-season\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Indianapolis Colts<\/a> offense saw fourth-year wide receiver,<a href=\"https:\/\/www.colts.com\/team\/players-roster\/alec-pierce\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"> Alec Pierce<\/a>, elevate into a possible WR1 during the 2025 season. <\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-2\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6k\">While the offense slowed down to a snail&#8217;s pace after the Week 11 bye, Pierce continued to flourish, regardless of whether it was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.colts.com\/team\/players-roster\/daniel-jones\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Daniel Jones<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.colts.com\/team\/players-roster\/philip-rivers\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Philip Rivers<\/a>, or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.colts.com\/team\/players-roster\/riley-leonard\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Riley Leonard<\/a> throwing him the ball. <\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-3\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6n\">Pierce put himself on another level, but another Colts wide receiver fell back in production after losing Jones. That pass-catcher was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.colts.com\/team\/players-roster\/michael-pittman\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Michael Pittman Jr. <\/a><\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-4\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6q\">Given this situation, it puts Pittman&#8217;s future with the team into some doubt. However, if you ask Pittman, he&#8217;s all about staying with Indianapolis despite the cloudiness around what&#8217;s to come. <\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-5\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6t\">Wish TV 8&#8217;s Anthony Calhoun caught up with Pittman in San Francisco, where the former Colts second-rounder addressed this subject. <\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-6\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6w\">&#8220;Indy is my home. I mean, I love everything about it. I love the people there. I love this team. I just really want to do everything that I can to bring this team back to where we should be. Where we were, like in the past, like in the Peyton Manning, Reggie Wayne, Marvin Harrison days. <\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-7\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6z\">I would love to be a part of that, but, part of it is not in my control. The nature of football, it&#8217;s a business, right? So, we&#8217;ll see what happens.&#8221; <\/p>\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">I just caught up with <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Colts?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">#Colts<\/a> Wide Receiver Michael Pittman here in San Francisco. He knows his future in Indy isn\u2019t certain, but there\u2019s no doubt he wants to be back with the team. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cIndy is my home\u2026I love this team\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/WISHNews8?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">@WISHNews8<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/allACcessindy?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">#allACcessindy<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/SuperBowlLX?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">#SuperBowlLX<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/tBGN8iNiCe\" rel=\"nofollow\">pic.twitter.com\/tBGN8iNiCe<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Anthony Calhoun \ud83d\udcfa (@ACwishtv) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ACwishtv\/status\/2019130211477180729?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">February 4, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-9\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"75\">Pittman finished 2025 with 80 catches for 784 receiving yards and a career-high seven touchdown receptions. However, it was the seven-game losing streak that was a bit concerning for Pittman. <\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-10\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"78\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/nfl\/colts\/newsletter\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Sign Up For the Colts Daily Digest &#8211; OnSI\u2019s Indianapolis Colts Newsletter<\/a><\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-11\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"7b\">For Pittman&#8217;s first 10 games, he looked solid. However, Pittman secured 26 catches but for only 204 receiving yards and one score for the remaining seven contests.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-12\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"7e\">Given how incredible Pierce looked, it could make the Colts question if Pittman is needed going forward. It&#8217;s fair to say Pittman is a great receiver, but he isn&#8217;t a game changer like Pierce. <\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-13\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"7h\">Also, the Colts still have <a href=\"https:\/\/www.colts.com\/team\/players-roster\/josh-downs\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Josh Downs<\/a> for the short game and tight end <a href=\"https:\/\/www.colts.com\/team\/players-roster\/tyler-warren\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Tyler Warren<\/a>, who proved he can essentially take on any part of the field for the QB to hit him. <\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-14\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"7k\">Pittman&#8217;s contract also gives the Colts a mountainous $24 million in cap space if they choose to part ways with him. The Colts undoubtedly love Pittman, but freeing up that kind of money allows an easier time re-signing Pierce and Jones. <\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-15\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"7n\">Pittman has put together a great career with Indianapolis, but he can be replaced in many ways in an offense as dynamic as Shane Steichen&#8217;s. <\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/01kgnf2dhtdsjwa9n8hb.jpg\" alt=\"Colts wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr. (black and blue uniform) runs down the sideline with the football.\" title=\"Colts wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr. (black and blue uniform) runs down the sideline with the football.\" width=\"4464\" height=\"2511\" class=\"undefined w-full w-full blur-[5px]\" q:id=\"7x\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Dec 22, 2025; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr. (11) carries the ball against the San Francisco 49ers in the first quarter of the game at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images | Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-17\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"81\">Pittman&#8217;s ability to be a volume target in the passing game and serve as an effective blocker can&#8217;t be overlooked. <\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-18\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"84\">But, as Pittman mentions in his interview with Calhoun, the NFL is a business, and the money that can be saved by cutting or trading him is vast. <\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-19\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"87\">Through 95 games with the Colts, Pittman has 485 catches for 5,254 receiving yards (10.8 average yards per catch) and 25 receiving scores. However, the NFL is a &#8216;what have you done for me lately?&#8217; league. <\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-20\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"8a\">Going based on this notion, Pittman didn&#8217;t look great in helping the Colts offense for the final seven games of the year, regardless of who was playing quarterback for Steichen&#8217;s offense. <\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-21\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"8d\">His situation will be an interesting one to monitor. If the Colts separate with Pittman, it will be far less about his on-field production and more about having the means to keep a breakout receiver like Pierce and a possible franchise solution at QB like Jones. <\/p>\n<p>Recommended Articles <script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Indianapolis Colts offense saw fourth-year wide receiver, Alec Pierce, elevate into a possible WR1 during the 2025&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":730030,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2059],"tags":[2005,7,2004,392,2381,6],"class_list":{"0":"post-730029","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-indianapolis-colts","8":"tag-colts","9":"tag-football","10":"tag-indianapolis","11":"tag-indianapolis-colts","12":"tag-indianapoliscolts","13":"tag-nfl"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/730029","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=730029"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/730029\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/730030"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=730029"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=730029"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=730029"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}