{"id":854714,"date":"2026-04-05T06:37:37","date_gmt":"2026-04-05T06:37:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/854714\/"},"modified":"2026-04-05T06:37:37","modified_gmt":"2026-04-05T06:37:37","slug":"insider-reveals-why-colts-were-ok-with-trading-michael-pittman-jr","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/854714\/","title":{"rendered":"Insider reveals why Colts were ok with trading Michael Pittman Jr"},"content":{"rendered":"

The NFL<\/a> offseason has produced a number of roster changes as the league heads toward the 2026 NFL Draft. Teams have made several free agency signings to prepare their rosters for 2026.<\/p>\n

Several trades have also taken place leading up to this point, including one that involved the Indianapolis Colts trading away star wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr.<\/p>\n

MORE: New favorite for Cleveland Browns starting quarterback job emerging<\/a><\/p>\n

At the time, the move seemed a bit puzzling, especially since the team retained Alec Pierce in free agency. We now know why the Colts felt comfortable dealing Pittman to the Pittsburgh Steelers.<\/p>\n

\"\"Jan 4, 2026; Houston, Texas, USA; Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr. (11) makes the catch and dives short of the end zone Houston Texans during the second half at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Thomas Shea-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

FOX59<\/a> reported that the Colts were comfortable moving Pittman because of one receiver already on the roster: Josh Downs. Although Downs experienced a dip in production in 2025, the Colts remain confident in the trio of Pierce, Downs, and Tyler Warren.<\/p>\n

\u201c[Trade of Michael Pittman] going to help Josh and Pierce get more targets.\u2019\u2019 General manager Chris Ballard told FOX59. That statement serves as a clear vote of confidence for the wide receiver room.<\/p>\n

The fourth-year receiver could benefit from a de facto promotion to the WR2 role. However, Mike Chappell of FOX59 also noted that the NFL Draft remains a possibility.<\/p>\n

MORE: Top 5 NFL QBs with the highest career earnings ever<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve always had our eye on Indiana\u2019s Elijah Sarratt. At 6-2 and 210 pounds, he\u2019s a slightly smaller version of the 6-4, 223-pound Pittman.\u201d Chappell wrote.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Josh Downs (2) looks to move past San Francisco 49ers cornerback Darrell Luter Jr. (28) on Monday, Dec. 22, 2025, during a game at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.<\/p>\n

Chappell, of course, has closely followed Sarratt and his teammates through local coverage of Indiana\u2019s impressive 2025 Hoosiers season. Regardless of the specific target, it makes sense that the Colts will likely look to add to the room from a deep receiver draft class.<\/p>\n

Ultimately, the situation comes back to the team\u2019s confidence in Alec Pierce and Josh Downs. Can the duo get things back on track with the return of quarterback Daniel Jones?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The NFL offseason has produced a number of roster changes as the league heads toward the 2026 NFL…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":854715,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2059],"tags":[2005,7,2004,392,2381,1509,116753,6],"class_list":{"0":"post-854714","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-josh-downs","14":"tag-michael-pitman-jr","15":"tag-nfl"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116350725429313558","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/854714","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=854714"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/854714\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/854715"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=854714"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=854714"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=854714"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}