Indianapolis Colts confirm suspicion surrounding wide receiver Alec Pierce’s injury and the start of his 2026 regular season
The Colts will be starting training camp this week, but as many knew based on the offseason events, it seems that it will be without one of their star players as Alec Pierce recovers from offseason ankle surgery.
The Indianapolis Colts received expected but unwelcome news Monday when wide receiver Alec Pierce was officially placed on the active/physically unable to perform list. Pierce, the $114 million face of the Colts’ receiving corps, will not participate when Indianapolis opens training camp this week following a cleanup procedure on a troublesome ankle.
Pierce dealt with ankle issues throughout the 2024 and 2025 seasons before attempting various treatments in January. When those treatments didn’t produce the desired results, he underwent the cleanup surgery in March. The timeline from that procedure points to roughly a six-month recovery window, which would put Pierce on track for a return around September and the start of the regular season.
Alec Pierce 2025 stats
- 47 receptions.
- 1,003 receiving yards.
- 6 touchdowns.
What the active PUP designation means for Pierce
The good news here is the distinction between the active PUP list and the reserve version. Because Pierce landed on the active list, he can return to practice at any point once he is cleared. There is no mandatory missed time attached to this designation.
That said, for a player Indianapolis just committed $114 million to, missing the start and potentially the entirety of training camp is far from ideal. Pierce is the centerpiece of the Colts’ passing attack, and every practice rep he loses is a rep he cannot spend building chemistry with his quarterback.
Daniel Jones provides a bright spot
On the brighter side, Colts quarterback Daniel Jones said on the Pat McAfee Show on Sunday that he is ready to go for Week 1. That at least provides some reassurance that the most important connection in Indianapolis will have its signal-caller healthy and available, even if his top target is working his way back.
The bottom line is this: the PUP designation was always the likely outcome once Pierce went under the knife in March, and the recovery timeline has not changed. Indianapolis will be watching its best offensive weapon from the sideline when practice gets underway this week.