In Week 2 against the Kansas City Chiefs, Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Alec Pierce reinjured the ankle/heel he had surgery on in March. The team doesn't know his return timeline, though. Or do they? The signing of free agent wideout Darius Slayton on Monday implies otherwise.
Slayton's former team, the New York Giants, released him on September 7, and it is telling that no team jumped at the chance to sign the veteran receiver. In other words, while Indy isn't saying how much time Pierce will miss, Slayton won't be a good answer in his absence either way.
Slayton has shown some explosive ability in his seven-year career, averaging 15 yards per catch. His career-high in receptions is 50, which he has reached twice. In the last two seasons, he hasn't surpassed 573 yards in either season. In the last six seasons, he hasn't had more than four touchdowns in any season, and he did that only once.
Indianapolis Colts sign Darius Slayton to replace Alec Pierce (at least for now)
Pierce hasn't had 50 catches in a season before 2026, though he did lead the league in yards per reception in both of the last two years. He just needed the ball more, but he wouldn't likely be getting the ball anytime soon.
According to NFL insider Ian Rapoport, Pierce is slated to be out "several weeks" and "if all goes well, he could return midseason." That doesn't sound good.
A second surgery for Pierce isn't off the table, though he is going to try to rehab the reinjured ankle/heel to see if he is able to play and then maybe readdress the situation after the season. The question is: Should the Colts actually have him play? Doing so might be too much of a risk.
Just like there was a risk to re-signing the wide receiver this offseason to a four-year deal worth as much as $114 million. Pierce agreed to the deal before he had surgery, so the team would have known about the ongoing ankle/heel issue and the need for surgery that had a recovery period of 4-6 months.
Did general manager Chris Ballard overpay for a player with Alec Pierce's historical production who also needed fairly major surgery? That seems to be the way the scenario is unfolding.
Maybe Pierce does rehab successfully and returns healthy by the midseason, though he has been dealing with the injury for a couple of seasons, it seems. No guarantee exists that he will ever be as explosive as he once was and, therefore, not as productive as he needs to be to earn more than $100 million.
What seems certain is that the signing of Darius Slayton, who has at least played with quarterback Daniel Jones before, when both were with the Giants, is an attempt to put a band-aid on an offensive problem to cover a gaping wound. The attempt likely won't work in a make-or-break season for many in the Colts organization.
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