Colts General Manager Chris Ballard said on Tuesday that receiver Alec Pierce did not, in fact, have a second platelet-rich plasma injection to speed up the healing of his ankle, according to multiple reporters.
Nathan Brown of the Indianapolis Star, who reported the injection took place, noted on Tuesday morning that his source had misspoken.
“I just want to clear up the confusion on Alec and give you all the timeline,” Ballard said, via James Boyd of TheAthletic.com. “So, Alec had PRP at the end [of the season] in January, trying to clear up some of the soreness, which is normal.”
Pierce then underwent surgery in March, but, Ballard added there was “no second injection.”
The current plan remains for Pierce to be available at the start of the regular season.
The Colts are having a joint practice with the Patriots on Tuesday in Foxborough. Multiple reporters noted Pierce is in attendance, working with a trainer on the side.
Pierce signed a four-year, $114 million deal to remain with the Colts in March. He caught 47 passes for 1,003 yards with six touchdowns in 2025.
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The Patriots have been scrambling to remove their post-World Cup turf field and to replace it with a new one. Given the ongoing real grass vs. fake grass debate, the notion that a team had to quickly remove and replace a “noncompliant” artificial surface seems like a fairly big deal.
Here’s what happened.
The Patriots (and the Revolution of the MLS) decided to switch from FieldTurf to Hellas as the provider of the playing surface at Gillette Stadium after the World Cup.
As FieldTurf describes the situation, the Hellas field was not an NFL-approved product. And it wasn’t, given the absence of the shock-absorbing “e-layer,” which is shorthand for “elastic layer.” After the Revolution games played on the surface since the World Cup, the Hellas surface had to go — and it was replaced by a FieldTurf product that complies with the NFL and NFL Players Association standards.
The process of removing the Hellas field began on Sunday, the day after the most recent Revolution game. FieldTurf will get the field installed by Thursday, when the Patriots host the Colts in their mutual preseason opener.
And so FieldTurf is doing a victory lap regarding the fact that a competitor failed to deliver an NFL-compliant product. FieldTurf is also sensitive to the reality that their brand has in some circles become synonymous with artificial playing surfaces generally; obviously, they don’t want the general public to think that the fake-grass fiasco was a FieldTurf fudge-up.
The problem, we’re told, was that Hellas made an executive decision to install its product without the e-layer. Hellas believed that, given the surface below the turf, the installation of an e-layer would have made the field too springy. The problem is that the e-layer is a non-negotiable requirement for artificial turf NFL fields.
The Patriots realized while the Hellas field was being installed that there was no E-layer, and that the NFL wouldn’t give them a dispensation on that requirement. They used the Hellas field for the three games played there by the Revolution after the World Cup, with a plan to rip out the Hellas field as of Sunday and to reinstall a FieldTurf surface before football season starts.
For these reasons, it’s unlikely that the new field will fail to secure the appropriate approvals to proceed with a preseason game on Thursday night. And the folks at Hellas have learned an important lesson when it comes to installing NFL fields: The E-layer is mandatory, regardless of whether it’s subjectively believed to be not necessary.
Colts wide receiver Alec Pierce has not seen the practice field in 2026.
He underwent what the Colts originally called a “clean-up” surgery on his left ankle in late March. Pierce had hoped to avoid surgery by taking a platelet-rich plasma injection after the 2025 season.
He was given a 4-6-month recovery timeline, putting the start of the season in doubt.
Nathan Brown of the Indianapolis Star reports that Pierce underwent a second PRP injection since then to help with lingering soreness and speed up healing. The injection was not due to a setback in his rehab, Brown adds.
It is unclear, though, when Pierce might return as the team has offered no timeline.
Pierce remains on the active/physically unable to perform list.
The Colts’ first depth chart of the 2026 preseason doesn’t provide any hint to how the team’s backup quarterback competition will play out.
Riley Leonard and Anthony Richardson are both listed in that slot behind Daniel Jones on the depth chart that was released on Monday. Head coach Shane Steichen said that both quarterbacks will play against New England in Thursday’s preseason opener — Jones will not play — but he has not said who will be the first one to take snaps.
The Colts will have a joint practice against the Patriots on Tuesday, so this week’s work could help create some separation between the two quarterbacks.
Colts General Manager Chris Ballard said that his intent is to keep Jones, Leonard, and Richardson into the regular season. Plans could change based on how everyone fares in the preseason or if an injury somewhere else leads to someone making him an offer he can’t refuse.
Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson was fighting for a starting job at this time last year and he’s in another competition as the team heads into its first preseason game of this summer.
Richardson is vying for the backup job behind Daniel Jones with Riley Leonard and both quarterbacks will get a chance to play against the Patriots this Thursday. The team has not said which of them will start that game and the battle is playing out against the backdrop of Richardson’s trade request this offseason.
General Manager Chris Ballard said at the start of camp that the team doesn’t intend to trade Richardson and Richardson said Sunday that he has not checked in on where things stand trade-wise in some time.
“I haven’t really even talked to my agent about that recently,” Richardson said, via James Boyd of TheAthletic.com. “I haven’t talked to Ballard or anybody about that recently. I’m not necessarily sure what’s going on. But I’m just here right now, trying to make sure I can stamp my foot on this team and be the best version of myself I can be for the team.”
Richardson also shared his feelings about potentially remaining in Indianapolis as the third quarterback should head coach Shane Steichen opt for Leonard in the No. 2 spot.
“If that’s what the team wants, that’s what I want,” Richardson said. “I just want go be able to help a team. If it’s this team, then I thank God for it. I’m just ready to showcase what I can do and be a winning piece to help the team win.”
There was no sign of trade interest in Richardson during the offseason and this summer hasn’t been any different. An injury elsewhere could change that, but Richardson’s future in Indianapolis or anywhere else will look a bit brighter if he can put together a strong body of preseason work that reminds people why he was a coveted prospect ahead of the 2023 draft.
The Colts signed free agent wide receiver D.J. Montgomery on Sunday, the team announced.
Montgomery spent last season on the Colts’ injured reserve list.
He has played 10 career games and has made six receptions for 92 yards and a touchdown. Montgomery also has totaled one special teams tackle.
He has spent time with the Colts (2022-25), Texans (2022), Jets (2020-22) and Browns (2019-20).
In a corresponding move, the Colts waived wide receiver Liam Clifford.
Clifford signed with the team as an undrafted free agent on July 30. In college, he played 52 career games with 15 starts at Penn State (2021-25) and made 42 receptions for 530 yards and one touchdown. Clifford also registered three carries for 16 yards and scored one touchdown on a blocked punt.
There is some positive news on the injury front for the Colts.
Via Stephen Holder of ESPN, head coach Shane Steichen told reporters on Sunday that receiver Josh Downs’ groin injury is not considered serious and Downs should return to the field soon.
Downs could even potentially be on the field for the Colts’ joint practice with the Patriots on Tuesday.
Downs is a critical piece for Indianapolis’ starting offense, particularly as Alec Pierce continues to recover from offseason ankle surgery.
In 2025, Downs caught 58 passes for 566 yards with four touchdowns in 16 games. He is entering the final year of his rookie contract after the Colts selected him in the third round of the 2023 draft.
After the final World Cup game at Gillette Stadium, out went the FIFA-mandated grass and in came an artificial turf field.
Now, the artificial turf field will be hastily replaced with a different one.
Via Mike Reiss of ESPN, the NFL and NFL Players Association independent laboratory testing protocol determined that the first artificial surface was “noncompliant.”
Patriots chief operating officer Jim Nolan explained the situation to Reiss but, frankly, Nolan’s quotes are sort of confusing and subtly oozing with spin. The bottom line is that the first field wasn’t good enough, forcing the Patriots to rip it out and try again. Quickly.
“The field we’re installing is the latest version of the field we took out in January,” Nolan told Reiss. “From a player perspective, it will be incredibly consistent with what they played on last year.”
It’s unclear why that field wasn’t reinstalled in the first place.
The new field is being installed this week. And the clock is ticking. The Patriots host the Colts to open the 2026 preseason on Thursday night.
What if the new field doesn’t pass muster? It wouldn’t be the first time a preseason game was scrapped.
Ten years ago, the Hall of Fame Game between the Colts and Packers didn’t happen due to paint that had become “congealed and rubberized.” (The debacle, which sparked litigation from those who bought tickets and in many cases traveled to Canton, caused the NFL to move the game from after the enshrinement ceremony to before it.) Twenty-five years ago, a Ravens-Eagles game at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia was cancelled due to “uneven cutouts” in the playing surface that, at the time, was used for both football and baseball.
The rush to install another new field seems like a fairly big deal, something that merits more attention from ESPN than the second item in Reiss’s weekly news and notes column. But, hey, that’s what can happen when the NFL owns 10 percent of the media outlet making the editorial decisions.
The Colts have not had Alec Pierce on the practice field at all this summer and they were missing another wideout at practice on Saturday.
Josh Downs did not take part in the session and the Colts said that he is dealing with a groin injury. They did not offer further information about the extent of the injury or how long Downs might be out of action.
Pierce is on the physically unable to perform list after having ankle surgery this offseason and head coach Shane Steichen said earlier this week that there’s no timetable for his return.
Ashton Dulin, Nick Westbrook-Ikhine, and Anthony Gould worked as the first team wideouts for the Colts on Saturday.
The fourth overall pick in the 2023 draft is in danger of landing third on the Indianapolis depth chart.
Although the widespread social-media buzz that quarterback Anthony Richardson Sr. already has been demoted to No. 3 behind Daniel Jones and Riley Leonard may be premature, at a minimum he’s still competing with Leonard for the QB2 slot.
An offseason effort by Richardson and the Colts to find a trade partner went nowhere. With his 2026 compensation ($5.385 million) fully guaranteed, the Colts have no reason to cut him, since they’ll still be paying him. (At most, they’d save $1.145 million if/when he signs elsewhere for the fourth-year minimum salary.)
Even if there’s no trade to be done for now, one injury elsewhere could be the spark. Likewise, an injury to Jones or Leonard would elevate his importance to the Colts.
That’s why the Colts intend to keep all three into the regular season. With the trade deadline landing the Tuesday after Week 9, there’s still a chance that the Colts could get something of value in return for what has been a failed first-round pick.
Richardson entered the NFL as a highly-talented prospect with limited college reps. In three seasons, he has 16 regular-season appearances with 14 starts.
The preseason looms large for Richardson. If he performs well, that could generate interest in a trade. At a minimum, it could move him higher on the list of available options if/when a team loses its starter or backup due to injury.
For now, the point is this — one year after Richardson lost the starting job in camp to Jones, Richardson could be losing the backup job to Leonard, whose chance to replace Jones as the starter in December was short-circuited by the unretirement of Philip Rivers.
