The offseason involving Alec Pierce was a bit of a roller coaster for Indianapolis Colts fans. The wide receiver was re-signed to a massive four-year deal worth as much as $116 million, so that was good for everyone involved. What wasn't was Pierce having ankle surgery in March.
He missed organized team activities and minicamp while rehabbing, and he will also miss the start of training camp. What fans didn't know was when he actually might return. Was Week 1 going to be in doubt?
Thankfully, based on what general manager Chris Ballard told the media on Tuesday, that shouldn't be the case. Ballard said that Pierce will need a "week or so of rehab," and then the team might expect him back after that. The receiver would still need to be medically cleared to practice and play, but the hope is that would happen within a couple of weeks.
Chris Ballard gives Indianapolis Colts hopeful news about Alec Pierce
That doesn't mean he will definitely be cleared, but Ballard made it seem likely that he would. Even if he missed a bit more time in training camp, that would be fine. He has been with the team for four years and has been working with starting quarterback Daniel Jones for a year, so his missing reps isn't exceedingly detrimental to his growth as a player.
What would be far worse, of course, is if Pierce returned too quickly and aggravated the ankle issue. Not having him in camp is one thing, but missing him during real games, especially with a difficult stretch of games to open the season, would be an awful situation.
Ironically, had the team not traded Adonai Mitchell as part of the move that gave the Colts cornerback Sauce Gardner from the New York Jets, any absence regarding Pierce wouldn't be as gravely felt. Mitchell was pretty good in New York in the second half of the season. He might have evolved in Indianapolis too, with the reps that the traded Michael Pittman Jr. wouldn't be getting.
Instead, the Indianapolis Colts have a wide receiver group that consists of the proven Alec Pierce and Josh Downs, and there is a lot of hope after that. Tight end Tyler Warren will also, obviously, play a huge part in the passing attack.
But take Pierce away from that scenario and bad things could happen. Thankfully, that isn't about to be the reality. The receiver should be back at training camp soon and well ahead of Week 1. After that, he simply needs to produce at a high enough level to earn his new contract.
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