Tyler Warren limps off the field during drills

Warren suffered a groin injury during Friday’s practice and was put on the questionable line; this is not great news for his chances of playing in Week 7’s game. Fantasy managers relying on Warren must immediately pivot elsewhere. Also inactive for the Colts are WR Ashton Dulin, LB Jaylon Carlies, QB Riley Leonard (third quarterback), and G Dalton Tucker.

Warren suffered the groin injury during Friday’s practice. He was added to the injury report and listed as questionable for Week 6. Of note, Warren also dealt with a groin injury late in training camp, though he was ready to go for Week 1 and had not appeared on the injury report again until this week. Even if he does suit up, Warren will be at far less than 100 percent. Expect Josh Downs and Keenan Allen to take on more work whether or not Warren is active.

Warren popped up on the injury report on Friday after suffering the injury in practice. Fantasy managers who were relying on Warren likely won’t find a good enough option to replace him with proactively on waivers at this point, so it makes some sense to sit and wait for more reporting to come out or for him to be ruled out. This was, frankly, the last thing the Colts needed given how banged up their receiving corps has been.

Warren also added a one-yard touchdown run on a tush push after Jonathan Taylor and Daniel Jones were stuffed on the previous three plays. The second-year tight end ran a route on 40 of the team’s 47 dropbacks and shared the team lead in targets with Keenan Allen. Daniel Jones is keeping the ceiling of this passing game in check with his inefficient play, but Warren is probably the most reliable receiver on the team and remains a TE1. He just lacks the upside to push inside the top five at the position unless Jones can get going.

Warren tied for a team high in catches but was out-targeted by Laquon Treadwell and Ashton Dulin. If you couldn’t tell, the passing attack did not look good. Daniel Jones was horribly inaccurate and the Commanders were largely successful in slowing down Warren and Josh Downs. Better days should be ahead for Warren, but he’s averaging a dismal 32.5 yards per game right now. He’s falling to the back of the TE1 ranks ahead of Indy’s Week 5 date with Pittsburgh.

With Alec Pierce gone, the targets heavily concentrated to Warren and Josh Downs. Warren, still an extension of the run game, just doesn’t look like he’s going to generate much yardage on his catches unless he breaks a tackle. But the PPR points all count the same, and nine catches at tight end is nine catches at tight end. He’ll remain on the TE1 line against the Commanders next week.

The seven targets and a score look nice in the box scores, but it is hard to overlook just how reliant Warren is on screens and leak concepts in this offense, almost all of which are built behind play action. That’s good news for fantasy managers when the ground game is cooking, as it was against the Chiefs, but we’ve also seen how ineffective it can be when the Colts aren’t able to control games as they did to start the 2025 season. Losers of nine straight games dating back to last season, Warren could struggle to return enough yardage to truly emerge as a locked-in TE1 until this team starts winning some games. His performance against the Chiefs now marks consecutive games with 21 yards or fewer, although a touchdown in each contest has kept his fantasy value afloat. He’ll be a difficult start against the lockdown Houston defense in Week 3.

Warren’s underwhelming line can be blamed on the offense’s struggle to move the ball all afternoon. The second-year tight end tallied two receptions in the first half, both for two yards, with his longest play coming on a nine-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter. His five targets were good for second-most on the team, but the Colts offense left a lot to be desired this week. The expected volume will keep Warren in the TE1 mix for Week 2 against the Chiefs.

Pierce is recovering from offseason surgery that caused him to miss the entirety of training camp and the preseason. The lack of reps could leave him a little rusty heading into Week 1, but the good news is that a limited practice today means he should be active versus the Ravens. Pierce will be a high-risk WR4 for the first slate of the season. Josh Downs and Tyler Warren were not on the injury report.

Warren is recovering from an apparently minor groin injury. By all accounts he should be a full go for Week 1. Warren last season was top three among tight ends in targets per route run and first-read target rate in the balanced Colts offense. He’ll offer a sturdy weekly floor and could lead the team in targets in 2026 if he stays healthy.