The Colts’ longtime deep threat has blossomed into a legitimate NFL wide receiver.
Indianapolis, IN — The Indianapolis Colts are in a far too familiar position heading into the offseason, as they once again find themselves sitting firmly on the quarterback carousel that’s plagued them for the better part of general manager Chris Ballard’s tenure.
An added layer to the equation, however, is that of wide receiver Alec Pierce’s emergence.
Blossoming from a one-trick pony to a legitimate deep threat set the floor for Pierce as an NFL wideout, but his emergence in a contract year has resulted in him becoming one of the league’s most underrated players at the position.
Heading into the 2025-26 season, Pierce acknowledged the looming contract talks and admitted that he’s focused on the present.
“I like to take a very day-to-day approach with things,” Pierce told ESPN’s Stephen Holder. “I don’t really think too far in advance.”
Instead, he was focused on evolving as a football player, as he’d let his camp iron out any potential big-picture stuff until it became most important. After being deemed a one-trick pony throughout his rookie contract, Pierce was determined to prove the doubters wrong, and in turn, we’ve seen an all-around wideout blossom.
It was evident back in training camp that Pierce’s short-area quickness had improved, but the rest of his game, from deeper out-breakers to pure isolation work, has followed that same upward trajectory as the season’s gone on. Although he already possessed impressive hands, especially in contested situations, Pierce’s evolution has seen a drastic increase in catch percentage. Here are his current statistical marks for the 2025-26 season:
43 receptions on 72 targets (59.7% catch rate) for 871 receiving yards and 4 receiving touchdowns
With two weeks remaining, and despite missing two games, Pierce has already surpassed career-high ranks in receptions, receiving yards, receiving touchdowns, catch percentage, first down gains, and is in line to lead the league in yards per reception (20.3) for the second consecutive season.
More specifically, Pierce has become the Colts’ main receiving option as of late, leading the team in receiving in three of the last four games. His season trajectory culminated in a game-best showing on national television against the San Francisco 49ers, where he led the team in receiving, hauling in all four of his targets for 86 yards and 2 touchdowns, a multi-touchdown showing for the first time in his career.
ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported back in early November that Alec Pierce could warrant upwards of $20M/year in a new deal this upcoming offseason:
“Teams I’ve talked to anticipate [Alec] Pierce will hit a big number in free agency. They think the $20 million per year threshold isn’t out of the question for him. Pierce is poised for his first 1,000-yard season and has the size/speed combination teams covet.”
At this point, that seems like a bargain. The conversation surrounding Pierce’s retention has evolved from being, ‘it’d be a shame to lose him,’ to ‘re-sign Alec Pierce no matter what,’ to ‘Alec Pierce may very well be the Colts’ WR1 of the future.’
His current contract valuation per Spotrac ($19.3M AAV) puts him in line with similar contracts to other wideouts such as Jameson Williams, Jerry Jeudy, Christian Kirk, and Jakobi Meyers. Pierce likely profiles most similarly to Jameson Williams’ $26.6M average salary number, to give you an idea of the potential ceiling that he could warrant.
As of now, longtime Colts wideout Michael Pittman Jr. has been the heart and soul of Indy’s offense, bringing his unconditional toughness to the table each day. Nowadays, however, feels like a subtle passing of the torch.
Pittman Jr. is still on the books for one more season, a $29M cap hit for 2026-27, but as far as the future goes, pivoting to Pierce feels almost inevitable at this point. Pittman Jr. will be 30 years old after his contract is up, whereas Pierce will be a fresh 27 years old and a year into his hypothetical second contract.
Although quarterback Daniel Jones is expected to be available for training camp of the 2026-27 regular season, simply betting on his return from an Achilles tear would be malpractice in short. The Colts’ 2023 first-round pick, quarterback Anthony Richardson, should be good to go after suffering a freak eye injury to his orbital bone earlier this season, but has his time on the sideline truly fixed some of his on-field deficiencies? It’s hard to say, but even if one were to be optimistic about Richardson’s return, for whatever reason, it’s nearly impossible to suggest that he’s primed for a fully healthy regular season.
Alec Pierce did begin to shine with Anthony Richardson (and Joe Flacco) as his quarterback(s) in 2024-25, scoring a career-high seven touchdowns and logging three separate showings with 100+ receiving yards. However, it remains to be seen if he’d rather go to a more stable quarterback situation or stay with the team that drafted him as he continues leveling up in the shadows.
His elite profile as a deep threat is where the conversation begins, then his work ethic, effort, and overall development as a wideout (i.e., expanded route tree, improved contested catch percentage, etc.) combine to spruce up the resume. The Colts have some key players set to hit free agency, but retaining Pierce’s services should be at the top of the priority list.
The Indianapolis Colts drafted Alec Pierce with a vision in mind, and it has since been realized. Now, they hope he returns the favor by betting on the organization to right the ship — a Sisyphean task since he became a Colt in the 2022 NFL Draft — as he continues his upward trajectory.
Category: General Sports
