The Indianapolis Colts are an offensive machine. Who knew that might be the case through the first seven games of the 2025 season? Let's just be happy the world is working that way and hope it continues.
And why shouldn't it? Quarterback Daniel Jones is changing the narrative of his career, finally free of the New York Giants, and is now under the great offensive direction of head coach Shane Steichen. For Steichen, he finally has a quarterback in Indy worthy of running his scheme.
The team is 6-1, and should be 7-1 after defeating the Tennessee Titans in Week 8. Since the teams last met in Week 3, the Titans have fired head coach Brian Callahan and have gone 1-3. Tennessee beating Indianapolis in Indy would be a monumental upset. It is very unlikely to happen.
The Indianapolis Colts may have to clear a bunch of money to keep wide receiver Alec Pierce
What is likely to happen, however, is that the Colts will have a lot of contract issues next offseason. This, in an odd way, is a good issue to have. It means players are exceeding what was expected of them before the season began. The biggest question is what to do with Daniel Jones, but that will affect everyone else.
That is especially true of wide receiver Alec Pierce. Pierce is finally trending toward having the breakout season fans have been waiting for. Prior to this season, everyone knew Pierce could beat defenses deep, but it was seemingly all he could do. This year, he is showing a lot more versatility.
That is going to get him a hefty pay raise when he hits free agency in 2026. According to Spotrac, and assuming Pierce stays healthy, he should expect a new deal that pays him an average of $14.7 million a season.
Indianapolis is projected to have $57,076,823 in cap space next offseason. That is seemingly a good amount, but Jones is going to eat a lot of the cap space up, as he should. Right tackle Braden Smith is also a free agent. The Colts might simply not be able to afford Alec Pierce.
Through seven games, Pierce is setting a career-high in receptions per game (3.2), yards per game (63.4), and catch rate (59.3). Had he not suffered a concussion in Week 3, his overall numbers would be much higher. The Los Angeles Chargers in Week 7 had no real answer for him, whether the receiver was running a post or a crossing pattern.
Alec Pierce is a keeper. The Indianapolis Colts just need to figure out a way to make sure they have enough money for him and Daniel Jones.