Colts expected to be without key starter amid long losing skid

Over the past two seasons, Pierce developed into the league's best deep threat. From 2024-25, the 2022 second-rounder averaged 21.8 yards per reception, leading the league in the category both seasons.

Late in 2025, Pierce played through an injury that later required offseason ankle surgery and resulted in him missing organized team activities and minicamp. He was placed on the active/physically unable to perform (PUP) list ahead of Colts training camp and not removed until late August, two weeks ahead of the start of the regular season.

With Pierce potentially missing the next month, Indianapolis's handling of his injury will be second-guessed. Last Sunday, Pierce had four receptions for 61 yards while playing 59.3 percent of the Colts' offensive snaps. He was on the field for another 17 snaps against the Chiefs before exiting.

In hindsight, the Colts may wish they had been more careful with how they brought Pierce back, perhaps even making him a Week 1 inactive, especially after signing him to a four-year, $114M extension this offseason.

After finalizing that deal, Indianapolis traded wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr. to the Pittsburgh Steelers, leaving the offense thin at wide receiver without Pierce. Veteran offseason free-agent acquisition Keenan Allen, who is facing a three-game suspension for a drunk-driving arrest, is off to a rough start on the field. Per Sumer Sports data, he ranks 95th out of 98 wide receivers with at least 25 routes run in targeted success rate (18.2 percent), which measures how often a receiver produces positive EPA (expected points added) per target.

Following news of Pierce likely heading to IR, the Colts added veteran wideout Darius Slayton, 29, who spent his first seven NFL seasons with the New York Giants. While his familiarity with quarterback Daniel Jones from their time in the Big Apple is a bonus, Indianapolis can't expect him to come in and replicate Pierce's production.

The timing couldn't be worse for Indianapolis, either. In Week 3, it hosts an equally desperate Houston Texans (0-2), who have won five in a row against their division rival and a defense that just held the Cincinnati Bengals (2-0) to 267 total yards.

The Texans rank seventh against the run, allowing 85.5 yards per game, giving Colts star running back Jonathan Taylor a challenging matchup. If Indianapolis, which has lost nine consecutive games dating back to last November, pulls off the home upset, it may have to come through the air.

Pierce's absence complicates those plans. Rather than break out of their extended slump, the Colts could be mired in it a little while longer.