Colts WR Alec Pierce out 3 months after recent ankle surgery

Indianapolis Colts receiver Alec Pierce underwent ankle surgery recently and as a result, he will not participate in any of the team’s offseason activities. The team hopes Pierce will be recovered by training camp in July, general manager Chris Ballard told reporters on Monday.

Pierce, who will turn 26 on May 2, signed a four-year, $116 million contract with the Colts in March which includes $84 million in guaranteed money. The deal puts him in the top 10 among NFL wide receivers in total contract value and 12th with an average annual salary of $28.5 million, according to Over the Cap.

Last season, Pierce compiled 47 receptions for 1,003 yards and six touchdowns. He is the first NFL receiver to get 1,000 yards on 47 or fewer catches since 2010, according to The Athletic.

Pierce’s 21.3 yards per catch average ranked first among NFL receivers who played at least eight games. He also led the league in yards per catch during the 2024-25 season with 22.3.

Ballard told reporters that Pierce dealt with an ankle issue throughout the 2025 season and asserted he could play through it again in 2026. However, after consulting with several doctors, Pierce opted to have surgery to correct the problem. Pierce has missed only four games during his four NFL seasons.

“We don’t expect any long-term implications here,” Ballard said, via The Athletic’s James Boyd. “And more of it just came down to [finding a permanent solution]. It got to where he was really having to maintenance it a lot last year and the pain, and so he kind of had to fight through that.”

Pierce projects to be the Colts’ No. 1 receiver after Michael Pittman Jr. was traded to the . In four NFL seasons, he has totaled 157 receptions for 2,934 yards and 17 touchdowns. He was the team’s 2022 second-round draft pick out of .