INDIANAPOLIS -- Just six wide receivers saw more targets than Michael Pittman Jr. from 2021-25, a list that includes some of the NFL's best wideouts.
Only Davante Adams, Ja'Marr Chase, Amon-Ra St. Brown, Justin Jefferson, CeeDee Lamb and Tyreek Hill had more than Pittman's 646 targets for the Indianapolis Colts over the past five seasons. And Pittman proved his value by handling that volume despite having different starting quarterbacks in each of those seasons.
All of which begs an important question: Are the Colts prepared to weather the trade of Pittman to the Pittsburgh Steelers, or do they need more?
The March 9 trade was something of a financial necessity given Pittman's increasing salary-cap figure for 2026 and the Colts' decision to keep fellow receiver Alec Pierce on a massive contract extension. But with no major acquisitions in free agency or the draft, are the Colts equipped to recreate their offensive fireworks of 2025 without one of their top pass catchers?
"He's going to be missed on this team and in this city," coach Shane Steichen said of Pittman.
The Colts anticipated this day might come as Pierce began to heat up over the past two seasons and created a huge market for himself in free agency this spring. He signed for four years and $114 million. Couple that with the Colts' decision to move forward with Daniel Jones as their quarterback, signing him to a two-year, $88 million deal in March, and Pittman's contract became unmanageable.
Trading Pittman to the Steelers cleared $24 million in salary-cap space for Indianapolis. He's never been a big-play receiver, averaging 10.8 yards per reception in his career. But he was consistently reliable and had reliable hands in tight windows, which is why quarterbacks kept throwing to him.
"Sometimes you've got to make financial decisions that you don't always like, but you have to," general manager Chris Ballard said. "Sometimes there's ways to squeeze around it. But this was a case where, financially, to do some of the things we wanted to do, we had to do it."
But now what?
Unless and until the Colts make a move at receiver, replacing Pittman will primarily be a collective effort between Pierce, tight end Tyler Warren and slot receiver Josh Downs.
"More targets for those guys," Steichen said. "... I'm excited for those guys' opportunity."
Pierce, given his salary and the Pittman departure, is going to have to assume a bigger role. He had a career-high 84 targets last season in his first 1,000-yard effort, but that was still just the fourth-most targets of any Colts player. The Colts' go-to receiver is likely to be Warren, who had flashes of dominance as a rookie in 2025 and tied for sixth among tight ends in targets (112). That was the most among Colts players, just ahead of Pittman (111).
But a wildcard in all of this is Downs, who experienced career lows in targets (88), receptions (58) and receiving yards (566) in 2025. Now, he enters the final year of his rookie contract, presumably looking for a lucrative extension. There could be an opportunity for him to get back to the kind of production he showed in his first two seasons, when he averaged 70 catches and 787 yards.
"I think getting lost in this a little bit is... Josh Downs," Ballard said. "I think Josh Downs is freaking good. I do. I've always thought he's good. I think allowing him some more opportunities, we're going to see some of the special stuff you've seen in the past, but more. So, that's part of it too."
But even if all those players reach expectations -- always a bold prediction -- there is still the matter of depth. An injury to one of the Colts' primary receivers means players like special-teams ace Ashton Dulin or veteran backups Nick Westbrook-Ikhine and Laquon Treadwell could be pressed into a central role. That's hardly ideal.
The Colts did little to address the position in free agency beyond adding Westbrook-Ikhine and waited until Round 7 of the NFL draft to select former Oklahoma speedster Deion Burks.
Indianapolis has left the door open to adding a free agent still on the market, and the team's ample remaining cap space could allow it to do so. The current crop of free agents includes veterans like Stefon Diggs, Keenan Allen and Deebo Samuel, all of whom would be upgrades from the team's current depth. But those players' decisions on next steps might not come until the weeks leading up to training camp, the Colts believe.
For now, though, the Colts head into 2026 trying to reestablish their passing game without a player who was one of their most important contributors.