{"id":786399,"date":"2026-03-02T09:56:20","date_gmt":"2026-03-02T09:56:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/786399\/"},"modified":"2026-03-02T09:56:20","modified_gmt":"2026-03-02T09:56:20","slug":"indianapolis-clear-message-to-alec-pierce-complicated-by-daniel-jones","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/786399\/","title":{"rendered":"Indianapolis&#8217; &#8216;clear&#8217; message to Alec Pierce complicated by Daniel Jones"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The Colts are facing a critical 2026 offseason as they aim to <a href=\"https:\/\/clutchpoints.com\/nfl\/indianapolis-colts\/colts-rumors-daniel-jones-alec-pierces-contract-situations-go-hand-in-hand\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">secure the futures of quarterback Daniel Jones and wide receiver Alec Pierce<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>After starting the 2025 season with an impressive 8-2 record, the team\u2019s momentum was abruptly halted by Jones&#8217; season-ending Achilles injury. Now, the front office must work to retain both players.<\/p>\n<p>According to NFL Network&#8217;s Tom Pelissero, negotiations for the two are closely intertwined; if Jones manages to secure a long-term extension, the franchise tag will likely be used to keep Pierce from entering free agency.<\/p>\n<p>However, the Colts currently have about $35.72 million in cap space, which makes it challenging to keep both players without making additional roster changes to create more salary room before the March deadline.<\/p>\n<p>ESPN&#8217;s Jeremy Fowler and Dan Graziano reported that discussions at the NFL Combine were dominated by whether the Colts <a href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com\/nfl\/story\/_\/id\/48045815\/2026-nfl-combine-latest-buzz-news-rumors-free-agency-draft-qbs-trades-offseason\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">would use the franchise or transition tag on either player<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The team has made it clear to Pierce that he is an integral part of their plans.<\/p>\n<p>Still, many insiders believe that Jones is the more likely candidate for the tag to ensure his return in 2026.<\/p>\n<p>This situation creates a complicated scenario: tagging Pierce would cost around $27 million, while tagging Jones could require a staggering $43.9 million.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/clutchpoints.com\/nfl\/indianapolis-colts\/colts-rumors-alec-pierce-daniel-jones-revelation-impact-franchise-tag-decision\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">However, tagging Jones could provide stability for the quarterback<\/a> position that Pierce values.<\/p>\n<p>But insider Stephen Holder notes that the free-agent market for Pierce is significantly broader than for an injured Jones, and replacing a deep-ball threat like Pierce would pose a considerable challenge for the Colts\u2019 offense, too.<\/p>\n<p>Ultimately, the Colts must carefully consider the risk of losing a highly sought-after receiver against the need to secure their veteran quarterback as they strive to reclaim their position as contenders in the AFC for the coming season.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Colts are facing a critical 2026 offseason as they aim to secure the futures of quarterback Daniel&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":738580,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2059],"tags":[4994,2005,2772,7,2004,392,2381,6,832],"class_list":{"0":"post-786399","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-indianapolis-colts","8":"tag-alec-pierce","9":"tag-colts","10":"tag-daniel-jones","11":"tag-football","12":"tag-indianapolis","13":"tag-indianapolis-colts","14":"tag-indianapoliscolts","15":"tag-nfl","16":"tag-nfl-rumors"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116158987339169680","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/786399","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=786399"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/786399\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/738580"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=786399"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=786399"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=786399"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}