According to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Alec Pierce continues to make progress in his recovery, but is likely to be at least several weeks away from returning to the football field—although he will be eligible to open his 21-day practice window on injured reserve next week:
Pierce re-injured his heel late in the first quarter of Week 2’s Sunday Night matchup against the Kansas City Chiefs and was subsequently placed on injured reserve.
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The initial expectation is that Pierce is more likely to be out until closer to midseason, meaning at least six to eight weeks, rather than the four-game minimum IR requirement.
For what it’s worth, Pierce was not seen wearing a cast on his re-injured left heel/ankle earlier this week.
As the Colts leading rusher last year, Pierce had 5 receptions for a total of 72 receiving yards through 2 games in 2026.
The Colts struggled to replace him as an elite deep threat, as their offense collectively lacked explosive plays, and Jones’ yards per completion average dropped from 8.1 in 2025 to 5.8 in 2026 respectively. The average of 5.8 yards per completion is currently 28th highest in the NFL among quarterbacks in 2026.
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Plus, the Colts’ first attempt at a downfield threat in veteran Darius Slayton helped replace Pierce in the interim while he was out at wideout, completely burned out. Slayton was released earlier in the week by the Colts, having not played in a single game for Indianapolis, despite being with the club for the past four weeks or so.