Alec Pierce Still Sidelined for Colts as Ankle Recovery Drags Into August
The $114M deep threat hasn't practiced all summer after March ankle surgery, and Indy still has no timeline eight days before its preseason opener.
No practice reps and no timeline — let his draft price fall.
- 4-year, $114M deal signed this offseason
- March ankle surgery, no practice all summer
- Led NFL in yards/catch: 22.3 (2024), 21.3 (2025)
- Career-high 47 rec, 1,003 yds in 2025
- On PUP; preseason opener is Aug. 13
Alec Pierce cashed a four-year, $114 million check this offseason, and he still hasn't run a single training camp rep to earn it. The Colts placed the deep threat on the PUP list before camp, and as of his Aug. 9 absence he remains on the shelf recovering from March surgery on his left ankle — an issue he's said he'd been fighting since 2024.
The timeline keeps sliding. Back on July 28, GM Chris Ballard put Pierce "a week or two" from returning to practice. That window has now closed with nothing to show for it. On Aug. 6, head coach Shane Steichen told reporters he had no updated timetable, only that Pierce's rehab was going well. That's a lot of encouraging words and zero actual practice snaps.
Pierce himself said back in June that recovery from the procedure typically runs four to six months, which put training camp and the early preseason squarely in jeopardy. With the Colts' preseason opener set for Aug. 13, it's hard to see him suiting up any time soon.
Receivers coach Reggie Wayne kept the mood light, noting Pierce is upbeat and in good spirits — which Wayne reads as a sign the recovery is trending the right way. Wayne also made clear the team wants Pierce back at full strength, not 80 or 85 percent, however long that takes. Read between the lines: nobody's rushing this.
Why He's Worth the Trouble
When healthy, Pierce is one of the league's premier vertical weapons. He led the NFL in yards per catch in both 2024 (22.3) and 2025 (21.3), and posted career highs of 47 catches and 1,003 yards last season (2025). That's the profile that earned the extension. It's also a boom-or-bust archetype that lives and dies on downfield connection — exactly the kind of role that suffers from missed reps with the quarterback.
The Fantasy Fallout
Pierce finished 2025 as WR26 in our rankings (No. 78 overall) on 183 PPR points across 15 games — a low-volume, high-efficiency line that already carries week-to-week variance. Add a lost summer and a foggy timeline, and the floor gets shakier. Don't reach for him at his current draft cost. Treat Pierce as a WATCH: let the price drop, monitor for his first real practice, and only pounce as a late-round upside stash once he's confirmed on the field.
