Alec Pierce (heel) listed as limited on Wednesday

This one went under the radar. Allen was limited on Wednesday with a “rest” designation. He remained limited on Thursday, but the Colts tacked a groin injury next to his name while maintaining the “rest” designation and hope for a Week 4 appearance along the way. Allen was downgraded on Friday, unable to practice, and should be considered truly questionable to face the Commanders this week. Were he to sit, No. 1 wide receiver Josh Downs would get a helpful target share boost.

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.

This target boost brought to you by Alec Pierce’s heel injury. The Colts didn’t really land any deep targets but they pounded the Texans’ middle-of-field zone coverages and Downs was a main beneficiary. He’ll be in the WR3 ranks next week against the Commanders.

Pierce will be sidelined for at least four weeks after suffering the injury in Week 2 against Kansas City. Pierce had seen 19 percent of the Colts’ targets and 53 percent of the team’s air yards in Week 1 against the Ravens, resuming his role as a strictly-downfield pass catcher. With Pierce out, Josh Downs should have every chance to operate as the Colts’ No. 1 wideout while Tyler Warren sees a bump in targets. Laquon Treadwell is likely to take over as the team’s lone deep threat. Treadwell can be picked up in 14-team fantasy formats ahead of the Colts’ Week 3 matchup with the Texans.

Pierce will most certainly be out for numerous games after appearing to re-injure the heel that he had offseason surgery on in Week 2. Rapoport’s wording seems to indicate that additional surgery has not yet been ruled out, but Pierce will attempt to rehab the issue in the interim. It’s a disaster of a scenario for a team that extended Pierce while allowing Michael Pittman to walk in the offseason. Josh Downs appears most likely to become the focal point of the offense through the air in Pierce’s absence after amassing seven catches on nine targets in the team’s overtime loss to the Chiefs. When, or if, Pierce returns to the active roster in 2026 remains to be seen.

X-rays came back negative last night but Pierce couldn’t put weight on it last night and left on crutches with a boot on. The fact that it was an aggravation is not promising. It sounds like Pierce could be looking at an extended absence. If true, Josh Downs will get some WR3 hype ahead of Week 3’s date against the Texans. If you were wondering why Laquon Treadwell was on the field deep in the game on Sunday night, Pierce’s injury is the reason.

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.

Downs operated as the unquestioned top dog through the air following the first quarter departure of Alec Pierce, the latter of whom left with a heel injury on the same foot as his offseason surgery. That setup appears likely to continue should Pierce miss time, although the short-area nature of Downs’ role all but requires significant volume to return scores beyond WR3 production. Even so, Downs should mostly avoid the lockdown perimeter corners of the Texans in Week 3, where he will be an upside WR3 in fantasy circles.

Pierce evidently avoided suffering a fracture. He will undergo more testing tomorrow to determine the remaining specifics and the injury’s severity. Hopefully, the Colts’ field-stretching wide receiver is not sidelined for long, if at all. Pierce underwent surgery on his ankle/heel this offseason and spent almost the entire spring and summer rehabbing.

Pierce came up limping on a route on the final play of the first quarter and was escorted to the medical tent by the training staff. He appeared to be unable to put any weight on the injured leg. It’s obviously not what fantasy managers want to see after he missed most of the offseason program following surgery on the ankle and heel on the same leg in late March. He remained in the medical tent for about 10 minutes before being carted to the locker room. Pierce caught his lone target for 11 yards prior to departing.