The Indianapolis Colts oddly were more injured in July than they are to begin the 2026 season. Quarterback Daniel Jones was still recovering from tearing his Achilles tendon in Week 14 last season, and defensive lineman DeForest Buckner was not practicing at the beginning of training camp due to a neck problem.
Missing throughout camp and the preseason was wide receiver Alec Pierce, the team's new WR1 after being re-signed this past offseason for four years and as much as $114 million, as he had ankle (or heel, as the team has referred to it multiple times) surgery in March. He only recently began practicing again.
On Wednesday and Thursday, Pierce was listed as limited in practice, though many still expected the wideout to play a bunch of snaps in Week 1 against the Baltimore Ravens, even without participating fully in practice consistently. According to what head coach Shane Steichen said on Friday ahead of the first game of the season, Pierce will be good to go with no apparent restrictions.
Indianapolis Colts rule no players out for Week 1 (including Alec Pierce, of course)
Otherwise, the Indianapolis Colts are fairly healthy with no players ruled out. As far as a snap count, Steichen said he would need to see how the game goes. Maybe Indianapolis will blow out the Ravens, and there won't be a need to have Pierce on the field.
The next question about Pierce is whether he can develop into a true long-term WR1. He is paid like one, but he has never had more than 50 catches in four seasons, and his high for receiving yards is 1,003. Those are barely WR2 numbers.
Not that his relative lack of production is his fault. He has led the league in yards per catch in back-to-back seasons, so he is doing the most with what he has gotten. With 30-40 more targets, which is what he should start getting now that Michael Pittman Jr. was traded and the team only added Keenan Allen. Allen shouldn't take many targets from what Pierce would be expected to get.
So, in terms of health, Indianapolis is about as good as it can be, and hopefully things will stay that way. After all, it was key players getting injured that went a long way toward gutting the potential of the 2025 season. As long as the Colts stay healthy, the team could be playoff-bound, and that would make for a great season indeed.
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