Should the Indianapolis Colts re-sign Michael Pittman Jr.?

The Colts drafted Pittman Jr. with the 34th pick in the 2020 NFL Draft. He has appeared in 62 games during his four-year career and has been a starter for 56. He has hauled in 336 receptions for 3,662 yards and 15 touchdowns over the last four years. 

He is coming off his highest usage season as he set a career-high for targets (156), receptions (109), and receiving yards (1,152). Yet again, he did so with a backup QB for the majority of the season after Anthony Richardson's season ended due to an injury. 

During Pittman Jr.'s four-year career, he has now had seven different starting QBs. The plan going forward will be for the Colts to have Anthony Richardson under center for the foreseeable future, which would finally give Pittman Jr. stability at the QB position if he were to return to Indianapolis. 

Should he stay or should he go?: 

This one is going to be the easiest of this series for me to answer: the Colts should do everything in their power to make sure Michael Pittman Jr. stays in Indianapolis. 

Some of you may have seen Pittman Jr.'s comments today in his end-of-season presser, where he shared his desire to see what is out there for him on the open market. To me, this sounds like a negotiation tactic by Pittman Jr. and his team. 

I don't believe there is a world where the Colts let him hit the open market. I believe the two sides will either come to terms on a long-term extension or if those talks stall approaching the deadline, the Colts would use the franchise tag to keep him from hitting free agency and allow them to continue negotiating with their star WR.