Indianapolis Colts WR Michael Pittman, Jr.
Getty
Indianapolis Colts WR Michael Pittman, Jr.
The Indianapolis Colts have enough issues with their roster this year and really can’t afford to be taking on water at one of their most vulnerable position groups: wide receiver. And, Michael Pittman, Jr. is probably the best one that they have.
James Boyd of The Athletic reports that Pittman left the practice field at Thursday’s OTAs with an undisclosed injury.
“#Colts WR Michael Pittman Jr. got tangled up while running a route and went down. He got up, limped off the field and did not return to practice,” Boyd posted on X.
Rotowire says that we may not get more information on the nature of the injury for a bit.
“Pittman sustained an apparent injury at the final day of Indianapolis’ voluntary OTAs, so it’s possible an update on his health won’t arrive until closer to the start of mandatory minicamp June 10…Though Pittman has fully recovered from the back issue, his status now needs to be monitored until such time as he retakes the practice field.”
Pittman dealt with a back fracture that he suffered in Week 5 of the 2024 season, but he played through it. Only he would know exactly how much pain he was dealing with. It’s not known right now if this new injury is related.
Colts would be very thin at WR if they lost Pittman
The Colts’ depth chart at wide receiver is not very exciting. Without Pittman, they would be left with Alec Pierce, Josh Downs, Laquon “MegaQuon” Treadwell (yes, he’s apparently still in the league) and a handful of other also-rans.
Pierce is a nice player who made some big catches last year. His numbers weren’t gaudy, but he was very productive with 37 catches for 824 yards and seven touchdowns for a healthy 22.3-average-yards per catch. Downs is a third-year receiver who also had a very nice season last year with 72 passes hauled in for 803 yards and five touchdowns.
It should be noted that Pierce’s and Downs’ numbers probably would have quadrupled if they had some semblance of competent quarterback play last year.
Not really for Treadwell, who is a former first-round bust of the Minnesota Vikings from 2016. He’s currently on his sixth NFL team, played in two games for Indy last year with zero stats, and he never remotely earned the nickname “MegaQuon,” a moniker given to him before his rookie season paying homage to former Detroit Lions‘ wide receiver Calvin Johnson.
Pittman would be big loss for Colts QB, whoever that may be
It’s been a rough week for the Colts on the injury front. The ongoing quarterback battle between Anthony Richardson and Daniel Jones had one of its combatants go down with an injured AC joint. Richardson is expected to miss the rest of minicamp with the injury, which will put more pressure on Jones to step up.
Pittman missing any significant time would also give rookie tight end Tyler Warren a chance to become a bigger part of the offense. Big things are expected of him in year one and those expectations would grown exponentially if Pittman is out. Of course, right now that’s all speculation.
Pittman’s production would be missed. He was very good in 2023, catching 109 passes for 1,152 yards and four touchdowns. Last season, despite the back injury, he still put up 69 catches for 808 yards and three touchdowns.