![\"Alec](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/GettyImages-2253204042-e1771070248710.jpg\")
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Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Alec Pierce making a play during an NFL game against the San Francisco 49ers.<\/p>\n
If the New York Jets<\/a> want to add a top-flight wide receiver in free agency, it\u2019s going to cost them.<\/p>\n NFL Insider Connor Hughes<\/a> of SNY listed Indianapolis Colts<\/a> wide receiver Alec Pierce<\/a> as a potential Jets free agent target this offseason. He explained, \u201cThe obstacle for the Jets is cost.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cPierce is widely viewed as the top wide receiver potentially available, particularly if the Cowboys<\/a> place the franchise tag<\/a> on George Pickens<\/a>. With multiple teams expected to pursue him, the Jets may need to exceed an already projected $20 million annual salary to land him,\u201d Hughes revealed.<\/p>\n That would mean the Jets would have to make Pierce at least a top-25 highest-paid wide receiver in the league. The 25th highest-paid receiver in the NFL<\/a> makes $20 million annually, per Over The Cap<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cFrom a league-wide perspective, Pierce is easily the Colts\u2019 top free agent,\u201d James Boyd<\/a> of The Athletic wrote.<\/p>\n \u201cPierce is projected to earn $20.2 million annually on his next contract, per Spotrac, though it wouldn\u2019t be surprising if that payday is higher. The Colts may consider using the franchise tag on Pierce to ensure the 25-year-old can\u2019t leave in free agency. The 2026 wide receiver franchise tag is estimated to be a fully guaranteed $28.8 million, per Over the Cap, and would also allow the team to negotiate a long-term deal,\u201d Boyd added.<\/p>\n A Connection That Is Worth Mentioning<\/p>\n The Jets hired veteran play-caller Frank Reich as their offensive cooridator this offseason.<\/p>\n Hughes noted that Reich was the head coach of the Colts when they selected Pierce with the No. 53 overall pick in the second round of the 2022 NFL draft.<\/p>\n During that rookie season, Pierce finished with 41 receptions for 593 receiving yards and scored two touchdowns.<\/p>\n \u201cSince then, he has developed into one of the league\u2019s ascending receivers,\u201d Hughes wrote.<\/p>\n \u201cThe 2022 second-round pick has improved each season of his career, and he supplanted veteran Michael Pittman Jr.<\/a> as the team\u2019s No. 1 receiver in 2025,\u201d Boyd said.<\/p>\n In his career, he has appeared<\/a> in 64 games and has made 55 starts. With those opportunities, Pierce has collected 157 receptions for 2,934 receiving yards and has scored 17 touchdowns.<\/p>\n The former Cincinnati product is coming off the best season of his career. He set new career highs in targets (84), catches (47), receiving yards (1,003), and first downs (41).<\/p>\n Pierce is a playmaker. For the second straight season, he led the Colts in receiving yards per reception. In 2025, he averaged 21.3 yards per catch, and in 2024, he averaged 22.3 yards per catch.<\/p>\n Are the Jets Willing to Dip Their Toes Into the Water?<\/p>\n Several teams in the NFL pay two top-flight wide receivers $20 million or more per year.<\/p>\n That list of teams includes the Cincinnati Bengals<\/a>, the Philadelphia Eagles<\/a>, the Miami Dolphins<\/a>, the Detroit Lions<\/a>, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers<\/a>.<\/p>\n Cincinnati has the No. 1 highest-paid (Ja\u2019Marr Chase<\/a>) and the No. 11 highest-paid wide receiver (Tee Higgins<\/a>) in the NFL. Philadelphia has the No. 6 (A.J. Brown<\/a>) and the No. 15 highest-paid WRs (Devonta Smith<\/a>) in the league. Miami has the No. 8 (Tyreek Hill<\/a>) and the No. 12 highest-paid wide receivers (Jaylen Waddle<\/a>) in the NFL. Detroit has the No. 7 (Amon-Ra St. Brown<\/a>) and the No. 14 highest-paid WRs (Jameson Williams<\/a>) in the league. Tampa Bay has the No. 22 (Chris Godwin<\/a>) and the No. 24 highest-paid wide receivers (Mike Evans<\/a>) in the NFL.<\/p>\n The Eagles won the Super Bowl with two wide receivers making north of $20 million per year. So the strategy can work.<\/p>\n Pierce, 25, will turn 26 before the start of the 2026 season.<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tPaul Esden Jr.<\/a> covers the New York Jets for Heavy.com. A New York native, he co-hosts a morning show, “The Manchild Show with Boy Green Digital.” Before joining Heavy in 2021, Esden Jr. covered both national and New York sports for FanSided, Elite Sports NY, and The Score 1260. More about Paul Esden Jr.<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tMore Heavy on Jets\n\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\tLoading more stories\n\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getty Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Alec Pierce making a play during an NFL game against the San Francisco…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":751680,"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-751679","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\/751679","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=751679"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/751679\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/751680"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=751679"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=751679"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=751679"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}