Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr. understands his time with the team is not certain this offseason.
The Indianapolis Colts are in win-now mode heading into 2026. The team's Owner & CEO, Carlie Irsay-Gordon, elected to retain head coach Shane Steichen and general manager Chris Ballard for another opportunity to end the team's five-year playoff drought. However, that comes with obvious expectations, according to Irsay-Gordon.
"We have been very clear with Chris and Shane that giving them another opportunity means that the sense of urgency for them to deliver and perform has never been higher," she said during a press conference following the team's 8-9 season.
Expectations are that everyone in the organization must contribute to turning things around. For Ballard, that likely means he needs to nail free agency and bring in impact players, but the team will need more money to do that. They currently have a projected $35 million in salary cap space (OverTheCap.com) and have quarterback Daniel Jones, wide receiver Alec Pierce, and safety Nick Cross set to hit free agency.
One of the most obvious ways the Colts can create more cap space is to reevaluate the contracts of players who contribute significantly to the cap. One of those players is wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr., who spoke with WISH-TV's Anthony Calhoun in California this week during the lead-up to Super Bowl LX.
"Indy is my home," Pittman told Calhoun. "I love everything about it. I love the people there. I love this team. And I just really want to do everything that I can to bring this team back to where we should be and where we were in the past, like the Peyton Manning, Reggie Wayne, Marvin Harrison days.
"I would love to be a part of that, but part of it is not in my control. You know, just the nature of football, like it's a business, right? So, we'll see what happens."
Pittman has a cap hit in 2026 of $29 million, which would be the seventh-highest for a wide receiver in the entire NFL (Spotrac.com). While his three-year, $68 million contract was appropriate when signed in 2024, Pittman has just 149 catches for 1,592 yards and 10 touchdowns in the two seasons since. For reference, Los Angeles Rams receiver Puka Nacua had 129 catches for 1,715 yards and 10 touchdowns alone this year.
In fairness to Pittman, he did play through a significant back injury in 2024, but numbers are numbers, and that includes dollars.
By no means is Pittman a bad player, and he's more of an asset than a hindrance for the Colts, but he's got a higher cap hit this year than guys like Ja'Marr Chase, Nico Collins, Tee Higgins, and A.J. Brown.
If Ballard is serious about this being a win-now offseason, then finding a way to fix Pittman's cap situation is one of the clearest ways he can create more cap space.
The Colts could trade Pittman, likely for a mid-round draft pick, but that would leave them without one of their top offensive players. What they would likely prefer to do, if they are considering this contract, is extend Pittman's contract and convert salary into guarantees or bonuses, while adding void years to the end of the deal.
There are recent examples of the Colts doing this, adding $14.4 million in cap space by extending defensive tackle DeForest Buckner in 2024, and adding $3.8 million in 2025 by reworking cornerback Kenny Moore II's deal.
While we are in the first layer of the draft portion of the NFL calendar, things will pick up for current NFL personnel as spring nears and teams begin making cap-saving moves ahead of free agency opening on March 11.
Jake Arthur has been covering the Indianapolis Colts for over a dozen years and is a member of the PFWA. He's one half of the Locked On Colts podcast and has worked for the Colts' official website, On SI, and more. You can follow him on X @JakeArthurNFL.