The Indianapolis Colts are currently figuring out their wide receiver room and how they'll approach the start of the season without Josh Downs, who recently suffered an injury that will keep him out a few weeks.
Even though Downs is out, right now, one NFL columnist seems to think the Colts still have room to make a move.
No, not trading for a wide receiver, but the opposite.
Bleacher Report's Ryan Fowler recently wrote about trade candidates on every roster, and when it came to Indy, he threw out former second-round pick, Alec Pierce.
Fowler notes that, despite the Downs injury, the Colts will have a strong trio of Michael Pittman Jr., rookie Adonai Mitchell and Downs once the second-year pro returns. For that reason, Fowler believes it makes sense to try and trade Pierce.
"Pierce's trade value is likely still relatively high due to his age, physical traits, and potential," Fowler wrote.
Trading Alec Pierce would be a bold move for the Colts
Had Downs not gotten hurt recently, then sure, it might make sense to trade Pierce. However, it is worth noting that Downs' high ankle sprain is on the same right leg that saw him hurt his knee in Week 9 last season. Downs ultimately came back the following week, but again, this small tidbit is worth monitoring.
Downs isn't necessarily "injury prone," but right now isn't the time to rid yourselves of depth if you're the Colts. Pierce isn't an end-of-roster type of player, but very well could enter the season as the team's WR4 if everyone was healthy.
Yes, rookie Anthony Gould has also made some strides in camp and is impressing quite a bit. If all goes according to plan, the Colts are much deeper, at wide receiver, than they would have thought a few months back.
But right now? It's much wiser to play it safe and hold onto Pierce, especially because of his physical traits and ability to stretch the field at times. The reason a team might want to trade for Pierce is the exact same reason why Indianapolis should hold onto him for the time being.
This is an organization that has done a fantastic job keeping their own, in-house free agents as of late. They've tried their best to keep continuity at the forefront of their strategy, and there's something to be said about that.
Pierce hasn't been a locker room problem. He hasn't been a bad player, by any means. He hasn't presented any distractions.
Why give up on him, so soon? Right now, the Colts are better off playing it cool and keeping their depth at an important position.