The Indianapolis Colts re-signed wide receiver Alec Pierce this past offseason to a massive four-year deal. He immediately followed that bit of happiness by having ankle surgery. The procedure was expected to be a 4-6 month recovery, but Indy kept pushing the timeline back. Thankfully, no longer.
Pierce began practicing fully for the first time last week, and that still meant his Week 1 availability against the Baltimore Ravens was in jeopardy. On Monday, head coach Shane Steichen put an end to any negative speculation: Pierce is going to play against Baltimore and apparently won't be limited.
Of course, the wide receiver has been in Indianapolis's system since he was taken in the second round of the 2022 NFL Draft. In the last three seasons, that has been under Steichen. Pierce understands his new place in the scheme and knows he must expand his route tree. He will likely remain the best deep threat in the NFL.
Indianapolis Colts expect to have Alec Pierce in Week 1 against the Baltimore Ravens
In 2025, while the Ravens still had some excellent metrics against the pass, Baltimore allowed the third-most passing yards in the league. They were 14th in pass completions allowed. While not awful, this should mean that a newly healthy Alec Pierce gets a lot of looks against the Ravens, and Steichen is likely to scheme that positively.
Quarterback Daniel Jones is still going to spread the ball around, but that only helps Pierce. He can break off a couple of deep routes, use his body to box out his defender, and hopefully set the Colts up for a couple of scores.
The offense would still function decently without him because Steichen is a good offensive coach, but Pierce adds an element of explosiveness that arguably no other team in the league has. The receiver has led the NFL in yards per catch in each of the last two seasons.
The added trick this year and beyond will be Pierce being extremely effective in his entire route tree. He will need to consistently go across the middle and underneath and find a way to pick up first downs when the play doesn't unfold 20 yards down the field. He is paid like a WR1, and he needs to act like one. He should do so with little effort.
The fun part is the Indianapolis Colts fans get to see how well Pierce adapts to his new role in Week 1. The Baltimore Ravens are the unfortunate ones. Any hope that they might have had that Pierce wouldn't be able to play is gone. Alec Pierce is playing.
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