The Indianapolis Colts bolstered their wide receiver room by signing Keenan Allen to a one-year deal worth up to $8.32 million. On one hand, adding a veteran as accomplished as Allen to their receiver room this late in the offseason is pretty good business by the Colts, and should make their offense better and deeper. On the other hand, it’s hard to see this and not think it has something to do with Alec Pierce.
Pierce, a fellow wideout who just signed a massive four-year, $114 million deal to remain with the Colts this offseason, fresh off a breakout year, underwent surgery on his ankle shortly after inking his new contract and has been sidelined ever since. Did the Colts sign Allen just to add to their offense, or did this signing happen because Pierce could miss Week 1? The short answer is we don’t know, but the timing of it makes it tough not to be a bit concerned.
Timing of Keenan Allen signing raises question about Alec Pierce’s Week 1 availability
All along, Pierce has been expected to play in the regular season opener and he’s had no setbacks as of this writing, but we’re also just a few weeks away from Week 1 and Pierce hasn’t even practiced yet. There’s still time for him to get up to speed and be ready to play in the regular-season opener.
However, if the Colts are confident in Pierce playing, why did they wait until now to sign Allen in free agency? If they were going to sign another receiver all along, particularly one of Allen’s caliber, wouldn’t they have wanted to do so before training camp and the beginning of the preseason? By waiting until now, Allen won’t have as much time to get acclimated before games actually matter.
Again, we don’t know Pierce’s status beyond what’s been revealed publicly, but the timing of this raises some suspicion that Pierce’s odds of playing Week 1 aren’t as high as the Colts are letting on. If so, that’d be a major bummer.
Regardless of Alec Pierce’s availability, Keenan Allen signing is a good one for Colts
It’s easy to speculate regarding Pierce’s availability, but we won’t know for sure what his deal is until we’re closer to the regular season. What is clear, though, is that the Allen signing figures to be a good one for the Colts whether Pierce is healthy or not.
If Pierce is out, Allen gives the Colts a reliable receiver they could sorely use. They’re set at running back and tight end with Jonathan Taylor and Tyler Warren, respectively, but without Pierce, their best receiver was probably Josh Downs. Allen isn’t the star he once was, but he’s coming off a 777-yard season with the Los Angeles Chargers. He’s a reliable weapon Daniel Jones can feed repeatedly.
If Pierce is healthy, Allen is a great fit alongside him. Pierce is known as a threat downfield, capable of burning the defense for big chunk plays over the top. Allen, on the other hand, is a bigger-bodied receiver who might not blow past opposing corners but should help the Colts move the chains and get quick gains. He’s essentially replacing Michael Pittman Jr., whom the Colts traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers over the offseason.
It’ll be interesting to see what happens with Pierce over the next couple of weeks. If he winds up being ruled out for the regular-season opener, Colts fans will likely know when the team’s brass determined he likely wouldn’t be able to play.
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