According to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, While the Indianapolis Colts made an “aggressive move” to re-sign Alec Pierce ahead of Tuesday’s deadline late Tuesday afternoon, all signs already pointed to the team’s top prospect testing the free agent waters. mid-next week, unless the Horseshoe applies the franchise tag (the transition tag of which was assigned to free agent quarterback and Pierce’s passing teammate Daniel Jones):
“There is one motivation for the Colts, and that is to get Daniel Jones to a long-term deal, sooner rather than later,” Rapoport said. “Opposite, with the salary cap. They can restructure some guys. They can figure that out. But if they do a long-term deal with Daniel Jones, their cap situation becomes a lot easier and that could be pretty significant because like you mentioned, Alec Pierce is going to be a free agent.”
“I know the Colts made an aggressive move to try to sign him before the franchise deadline. That was never going to happen. He wouldn’t sign, unless he knew for sure who his quarterback would be.”
“Now he knows it’s Daniel Jones, but timing is really not on the Colts’ side here.”
“Today is Tuesday. Right? So in five or four days, by any count, the tampering window begins. Players never get that close to free agency and at least not accept offers. It’s hard to imagine getting a deal done until at least the end of the week before we find out what’s going on.”
“Besides George Pickens, who is a member of the Dallas Cowboys franchise, he’s one of the best free agents at any position. Certainly the best wide receiver. He’s going to get a big deal, and the Colts are not (only) competing with themselves, but with the rest of the NFL.”
Of course, this is shaping up to be what many Colts fans ultimately feared.
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Without a franchise tag applied to him, Pierce after a stellar 2026 campaign, in which he led the league in average yards per catch for a straight year, entering the open market as an unrestricted free agent – and essentially free to sign anywhere without significant compensation from the suitor deterring other teams from offering or even providing the Colts with the opportunity to match any offer sheet.
At 25 years old and still improving as an overall route runner, Pierce has caught 47 receptions for a total of 1,003 receiving yards and 6 touchdown receptions in 14 starts, but it is his unique skills of vertically splitting the field, high-pointing the ball, maintaining body control, and making highly athletic/acrobatic catches through contact that make him one of the team’s truly elite deep threats. league.
The first waves of free agency can be frantic and very unpredictable.
Colts fans saw it firsthand last season when rotational defensive lineman Dayo Odeyingbo signed a 3-year, $48 million contract with the Chicago Bears (with $32 million guaranteed in the first few rounds). Pierce is a better player than Odeyingbo was at this point in their respective careers, and all it takes is an illogical team to make a shocking offer to potentially overvalue the Colts from a salary cap perspective.
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As Rapoport notes, with Pickens the recipient of the franchise tag, Pierce now becomes the top free agent.
He had already been speculated as an offseason target for almost every team potentially in need of a wide receiver upgrade early in the offseason, especially those with bigger, stronger-armed quarterbacks.
If things go south, especially if the Colts can’t guarantee Jones a multi-year contract extension, can anyone reasonably blame Pierce, if the money is comparable, that he can catch passes from potentially Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, etc. who are all better quarterbacks and more armed for shots downfield?
This is why many Colts fans were clamoring for Pierce to receive the franchise tag, instead of Jones being the recipient of the transition tag. While Jones’ average annual contract value is sure to be higher, Pierce expects to have many more interested suitors, as there are more teams with wide receiver holes than those in need of a starting quarterback rehabbing from a season-ending torn Achilles who appears to be a good fit for Jones.
