Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - COLTS SQUAD SHOW: MOVING ON from Michael Pittman Jr.? | What Indy Could Get for the Veteran Receiver

Episode Date: February 20, 2026

In our latest look at Questionable Colts for 2026, the Squad discusses whether or not Michael Pittman Jr. will be part of Indy's plans next season. If the Colts were to move on from MPJ, what could get they get in trade? Also, examining the Bengals possible Trey Hendrickson tag decision and how it may impact the Colts. Find and follow Locked On Colts on your favorite podcast platforms:  🎧 https://lockedonpodcasts.com/podcasts/locked-on-colts/  📺YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLdpxJspi1hMh5HL7ExpWOQ  Give the squad a follow on X/Twitter @Schultz975, @JakeArthurNFL, @ZachHicks2, @allenpinkett, @LockedOnColts, and @ColtsOn_SI, as well on TikTok and Instagram!  Locked On NFL League-Wide: Every Team, Fantasy, Draft & More  🎧 https://lockedonpodcasts.com/podcasts/lockedoncolts Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors! TurboTax For a limited time, you can have your taxes done by a local TurboTax expert for just $150 — all in, if a TurboTax expert didn’t file for you last year. Just file by February 28. Visit http://TurboTax.com/local to book your appointment today. FanDuel Use your Profit Boost on an NBA future and get entered for your chance to win a trip to the NBA Finals. Play your game with FanDuel, the official sports betting partner of the NBA. Visit https://FANDUEL.COMto get started.  Indeed Listeners of this show get a $75 Sponsored Job Credit to help give your job the premium placement it deserves at http://Indeed.com/podcast. Zocdoc Stop putting off your doctor’s appointments and get the care you need. Go to http://Zocdoc.com/lockedonnfl to find and instantly book a top-rated doctortoday. FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Welcome to the Colts Squad Show. I'm your host, Derek Schultz, and I have a spare bedroom here in Indiana if the Chicago Bears want that. And I'm Zach Hicks, and I'm ready to keep talking about Michael Pittman, Jr. and his contract on today's episode. I'm Jake Arthur, and the Colts might have to break a few eggs if they want to make an omelette this offseason. And I'm Alan Pinkett, former Euler, living in Northwest Indiana. And if the Bears move, then I've got a very short drive to the state. I'm Colts Nation rise up. It's the Colt Squad, everything Indianapolis Colts every week. Covering all the big hits and game changing plays from the Circle City, the way only the locked on podcast network can. It's time to squad up. The Colt Squad Joe starts now. Welcome to the Colts Squad show. I want to specify again because we have a Bears squad show. So we'll leave the Bears stuff to them, even though we're feeling very bearsy here in Indiana. I'm Derek Schultz, a longtime.

Indy sports soccer columnist for the Indianapolis Business Journal. I'm joined by a Notre Dame legend and long-time NFL running back, Alan Pinkett, who joins us right up there from the region, as we call it here, Northwest Indiana. Our locked-on Colts duo of Jake Arthur and Zach Hicks are here as well to lend their insights as we are fully spotted up and ready to go for this Thursday edition of the show. Questionable Colts will continue that feature on tonight's show.

You guys listen to the last couple of ones that we've done. Anthony Richardson started this off. We talked about Kenny Moore on two. Tuesday and now probably the guy that is generating the most conversation. Another vet that it's hard to picture, honestly, the Colts not having in the locker room, but Michael Pittman Jr. So questionable Colts, guys who are under contract but may not be on the team this coming season. We'll lead that off on tonight's show with Michael Pittman Jr.

We'll talk about his trade value on segment two. We had mentioned on Tuesday's show that trade that was floated out there by Bill Barnwell with Carolina. but what MPJ could command back in a deal because he's still a guy that is an effective NFL player if the Colts were to move on from him. What the wide receiver room would look like without Michael Pittman Jr. I think the position is in a much better place than when he arrived in 2020. I don't think that's saying very much. But we'll talk about that coming up in segment three.

And then, of course, in segment four, the news of the day, at least around these parts, is this stadium deal that could potentially happen for the Bears. and the Colts co-inhabiting the state of Indiana with another NFL franchise and what that could mean for them and how it impacts Colts fans at all. We'll round out the show with that today. But guys, let's start with Michael Pittman Jr.

And Zach, I know you and Jake have been talking about it too during some of your off-season shows on your daily locked on Colts show. If he's cut entering the final year of his contract, his salary cap savings will be a little bit over $24 million, just $5 million in dead space. And I think it goes back to what Allen has chimed in consistently, you know,

giving the player perspective on this show, So sometimes it's not about are you still a good and productive player? Sometimes it's about this, right? And when you look at what Pittman still brings to the table, and we can talk about some of the things that Michael Pittman Jr. still brings to the table, even in, I think what we would agree has been sort of a diminished state and not a great season in 2025. Hard to swallow that number that the Colts would have to pay him if they kept everything as it is right now.

Yeah, and let's be honest here. When Michael Pittman Jr. signed this contract and he looked at that final year, of the contract, seeing that only 5 million of it was guaranteed and his cap hit would be 29 million, he knew even if he emerged as a top five receiver in football, he wasn't going to play at that salary cap number. Actually, if you look around the league, it's only a handful of non-quarterbacks to actually play at a salary cap number above $28 million in a given season. Like, you'll get like a Miles Garrett every now and then in like the first or second year of a contract, but even like the super, superstar players who are getting an average of more than that

typically don't play at above $28 million in the cap year because of void years, because of extra money added on at the end, because of signing bonuses. So it's unheard of even for superstar players. And that's why this is such a big talking point because I think we can all agree. Like Michael Pittman Jr. is a good player, a very solid player in this league. He's not a $29 million in a year type of player, though. So that contract is going to have to be reworked or touched in some degree, but even just removing the money aspect of this, just talking about Pittman Jr. and what he is, like, he had a good season last year. I think he bounced back strongly from 2024, which was a very difficult and trying season for him.

Obviously, the results on the field weren't there for the whole team. But for him in particular, he's dealing with that back injury that he suffered early in the season. He played through it. we'll all remember what Adam Schepter tweeted out that he was going on injured reserve and he was potentially going to miss the entire season. And then the next day, the Colts are like, no, he's, he's playing through it. He said he wants to play through it. He feels good and he's playing through an injury that could have put him on injured reserve. So you have to respect the guy for it, but his play certainly diminished because of that. I think he got back to being a little bit of

who he was this past season, but there are still like real limitations in his game. He's kind of like a power forward without a jump shot at this point, not to always bring stuff back to basketball comparisons. But he'll get you the tough yards. He'll get you the over the middle yards. He'll catch some passes in traffic. He's good enough for a flash play every now and then, like that one against Tennessee was one of the best catches of the season

for the Colts this past season. But by and large, he's a pretty limited player who doesn't get a ton of separation, doesn't create much after the catch, and really can't create much on the vertical plane. So he's really good as a complimentary player when you have Alec Pierce just being this emerging star that he was this past season. When you have Tyler Warren looking like a top five, top 10 tight end in the league, when you have Jonathan Taylor being the top two running back in football, top three running back in football, he's a really good complimentary piece to have to that.

But when you have guys who are off of their rookie contracts, your complimentary pieces get paid a lot of money. And when you're the coach, you have to kind of reallocate. some of that money to the defensive line and some other parts. So it really comes down to how much are you willing to pay a player who's not really a focal point in your offense right now anymore. You know, he's a good compliment to Pierce, Warren, and Taylor, but you can't really be paying compliments almost $30 million in the season, you know?

So I still think he's a solid player. I think there's value in having him. And I'm not even fully on the board of make sure Pittman's not on this team next year because I don't think his play has been terrible, but if it came down to it, like you have to put more value on Pierce. You have to put more value on Warren, more value on Taylor,

more on Jones, more on downs even, you know? And if it costs Michael Pittman Jr. to do that, then I think that's perfectly necessary for this team. Yeah, I think when it comes to Pittman, you know, he signed the deal two off-season ago before the 2024 season. And it was a good, it was a good contract for what his body of work was. He was coming off a 109 catch year, over 1100 yards, a career year.

But unfortunately, in the two seasons since, again, big asterisk for 2024 because he had the back injury. But in his two seasons, he essentially has put together combined in those two years what Jackson Smith and Jigba and Pooka and Kuka, Nakua just did in one year this year. You know what I mean? So statistically, the juice is just not worth the squeeze when it comes to that contract. I mean, now that Tyree Kill has been released, Pittman is now on the hook for the sixth highest cap hit in the NFL among all receivers. Just Justin Jefferson, C.D. Lamb, Chris Godwin, Amunraa, St. Brown, and D.K. Metcalfe ahead of him. But that's even ahead of Nico Collins, J.M.R. Chase, A.J. Brown.

Like, guys like that. It's like, you just clearly, you see the number. and it clearly doesn't fit, and it's the Colts' biggest opportunity to create cap space. Now, what I think they would prefer to do, because I don't think anyone wants to see this end with Pittman being a cap cut, you know what I mean? Because his career is not done. But, you know, what they did with Buckner a couple off seasons ago was they extended him, they added void years to the end of his contract, and it freed up about $12 million in

cap space. they did something to a much smaller degree to Kenny Moore last year, added void years to the end, and it created like just under $4 million in space. So I think that would be their preference. However, if they could offload like $20 plus million to a trade, you know, someone gives you a fourth or fifth round pick. You might be pretty enticed to do that,

but we also know how touchy Chris Ballard is with the, heartfelt stuff. Like as a person, he sees these guys as people first, not as assets, but at the same time, that kind of gets you in trouble and it keeps you hanging on to situations longer than you should. Because, I mean, think of how often does Chris let these contracts go throughout their life cycle pretty much every time for the most part. When they do restructure guys, it's usually players still kind of worth that contract.

what I mean? Like to Forrestructed you could give him a blank check. He just restructured for an extension and to convert into guarantees and bonuses. I mean, Kenny Moore was still playing good ball as well, but this is kind of a different situation where you've got a guy who very clearly cannot play at that

cap hit. So it's a little different in how they might want to attack this. So I do think it's going to be very telling in how much of a new leaf Chris Ballard's willing to turn over. Yeah, and real quick. People always say like, wouldn't in doubt throw void years at the end of everything, right? Because that's what the New Orleans Saints have done for the last couple years and they've had to bite the bullet with it in the recent seasons.

Void years are a tool for sure. You do have to pay that bill eventually down the line and it's very difficult for small teams to do something like void years over and over again. They've gone against their typical preference by doing that with guys like Kenny and Buckner. I don't know. I wonder if they're capped out on moves like that, though. because they don't operate, like under Jim Mersey, they never do. No, no, not. Never. They were a cash over cap team, and they always were worried about the real cash flow rather than just the cap, you know?

And adding void years hurts the real cash flow a lot. So I don't know how much more we're going to see of void years added in there. I know it's a great solution for your Eagles and your saints and your packer, I guess Packers when they were had Rogers. it's not super feasible for the Colts to do that every single season. Well, Jake, you said that Chris Ballard sees the person before the player. If that is truly the case, he's one of the odd ones at General Manager. But I think you make a good point because seeing the, there's no better example of seeing the person before the player with Laquan Treadwell.

How many years is he going to stay on this team? Look, he's got talent. He's good. But, I mean, I watched the press conference one time after he cut him. He said, I love Laquantre, Edwell. Bringing him back the next day. He tells us about Daniel Scott every day. And I think, Alan, there's a good chance you don't know who Daniel Scott is because he's seen the field like twice in three or four years.

Yeah. And I do have to say, Zach, you hit the nail on the head that Michael Pittman, very good player, but in this offense, he's a complimentary player. And do you pay a complimentary player that amount of money? And that's the thing that for me is hard to digest in terms of whether they keep him or not. and I'm sure it would have to take some type of restructuring. And it sort of falls into what I've told people for a long time, for a long time is the NFL is a good business to be in.

It's just not a nice business. And it's not nice to someone who, you know, maybe is entering the prime of his career, albeit he had an injury. And the sad reality. in the NFL, sometimes you make too much money. And so hopefully there can be a restructuring. I think he's proven his worth to a Daniel Jones.

He's reliable to a Daniel Jones. He's somebody, Daniel Jones is comfortable throwing the football too. He does on occasion make plays. But he's not a true number one. And, you know, for as good as he is, it still is a complimentary piece. Now, him being a complimentary piece, I think, benefits this offense because there's really nobody that they will double.

The opponents will double, you know, which, you know, allows a Michael Pittman to go get decent stats. And, you know, in terms of stats, I did just a teeny bit of research, you know, and found out that he's the fourth. wide receiver in Colts history to have over 100 catches in a thousand yards in a season. I know that wasn't last year, but that's a hell of an accomplishment when you look at the receivers that have played for the Colts. Yeah.

But in this business also is what have you done for me lately. Yeah. And real quick, sorry, one thing I wanted to have before we got out of here, too, is just, there's a really real plateau that receivers hit around 30 years old. He's turning 29 in October of this season, going into the last year of his contract. I don't expect him to get much length on his next contract as a result. So for people saying, like, oh, you can extend him and lower that cap, he's closing in on where receivers typically fall off at like 30 to 31.

Like, look, Cooper Cup just four years ago was this all-pro superstar receiver. now he's probably the worst contract on the team that just won the Super Bowl. You know, it's, it's a difficult business for when you age, you know, and he's about to hit that plateau, and you were already seeing a downward trend in his play the last couple years. It makes it difficult to even talk, like, extension to lower that. So outside of, like, a pure, like, pay cut, I struggle with how you bring that cap number down without cutting or trading him. And each position is different.

and I'll wrap it up. How many 30-year-old running backs do you see in the league? Right, right. So you want to find some way to make it work this year, but like without killing the future, I don't know, I don't really know how it works, you know? Speaking of trades, what kind of compensation could the Colts get back if they did, in fact, decide to move on for Michael Pittman, Jr.

We'll talk about that next when the Colts Squad Show returns. This portion of the Colts Squad Show brought you by five-hour energy. Welcome to the five-hour energy flavor draft. We're looking at every aspect of the draft to let you know which tasty flavors are the best and which just might be sleepers. The board is set. The flavors are ready and only one is going to take the top spot.

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State Fair again. And of course, it comes with that five-hour energy boost that gets me through the rest of my day. No doubt that one would be my number one overall draft selection. But so many of the five-hour energy flavors would be on my draft board, including, you know, those two that I just mentioned. Again, you can't go wrong with grape or cherry. You can't go on with any of these, but grape, cherry, cotton candy, you can check out all the five-hour energy flavors and make your draft pick. Find your new favorite flavor of five hour energy shots available online at five hour energy.com. That's five hour energy.com or on Amazon. Welcome back to the Colts squad show. Thanks so much for joining us alongside the locked on Colts duo of Jake Arthur and Zach Hicks and former

NFL and Notre Dame running back Alan Pickett. I'm Derek Schultz. Questionable Colts, we're continuing that feature on today's show as we talk about Michael Pittman Jr.'s murky future. And before we get into the trade compensation is something else that I've just sort of noticed about this specific conversation and it just sort of parlays into the larger conversation around the Colts. You know, we're talking about all of these guys like Michael Pittman Jr. who are good, solid NFL players, but that's all they are, right? And I think that that sort of underlines the issue of what the Colts have run into over really Pittman's era here with the 2020s cults where you have good, solid players.

but you're going through the roster and you're like, who keeps me up at night? Who's like the dynamic playmaker type on this team? And, you know, Michael Pittman, Jr., as good as he was and as productive as he was, was never that level of player. But going through sort of his trade value, the trade we had mentioned that was floated by Bill Barnwell was Pittman Jr. And a 7th to Carolina for Xavier Legat and a fifth rounder.

The trade proposals that I've seen, now full disclosure, a lot of these have been from cult-centric sites, but it's been around a fifth rounder. I've seen conditional draft pick, things like that. I've heard some AFC teams as potential interested parties, teams that are just kind of light at receiver, Buffalo, Denver, teams that could use a veteran presence maybe. But Zach, what do you think the Colts could potentially get back?

Because I think Pittman Jr., I think we all agree, is still the caliber of player where if they dangle them out there, they could find somebody that's interested. They don't want to leave it up to free agency. They just want to go ahead and grab them as it is. Yeah. So, again, this is speaking. in the hypothetical world of the Colts just have to move him in a trade.

Like he's not going to take a pay cut. The void years don't make sense. The extension doesn't make sense. So the next best option is either cutting or trading. And obviously, you prefer to trade than cut. So you actually get something back and you can get what Al and I always talk about, those cheap contracts coming back, you know, on those draft picks. I think the fifth round pick is pretty good comp.

I think it's a pretty good comparison. And we look back, I believe, when Amarry Cooper was traded from the Cowboys to, was it to the Browns or to the, I think it was to the Browns. Mark Cooper has been traded 30 times in the NFL. So one of those trades when he was getting paid big was like for a fifth round pick straight up. And I remember everybody thinking like, wow, this is a crazy steal by the Browns here. But again, it's about trading for the contract, not just the player. And I think with Pittman Jr., you wouldn't see much incentive from the acquiring team. to immediately do an extension. I mean, unless he would accept an extension below $20 million per year,

but I'm not sure how incentivized he would be to do that. So you're essentially trying to trade a one-year, $24 million contract for a team to rent him for a season and see what he can do. Now, I think there would be a market for that. We're looking at teams like, you know, the Raiders have like $100 million in cap space. You can't spend $100 million in cap space of one off season, so it makes sense to flip one of your seven day three draft picks that they have for a one-year rental to boost up your first overall pick quarterback and get him a reliable target, especially when they just lost a reliable target and Jacoby Myers they traded in season. So I think you could get like a fifth round pick from a team like that. There's plenty of other teams that have a ton of cat space as well. But I think anyone expecting more than that is wishful thinking at this point.

And again, contracts are the biggest part of trading in the NFL. And then we get into the real conversation of do you just try to find any way to make it work this year rather than getting a fifth round pick that's not going to contribute much this next season when you need to win? You know, like that's a part of the conversation, I think. But I really think the trade or the cut, if you can't find a trade partner, only makes sense if you just, you know, if you can't make it work with him. I think the Colts are going to be very incentivized to make it work somehow at a lower. number. But again, if they can't make it work, then I think you have to go to the trade route because it's better to get something than not have something for them. Yeah, I don't know about a conditional pick for Pittman, because again, if the Colts want

to flip them, they probably want something right away. And it's really hard for me to see them get anything more than like a fourth round max. And again, you don't really swap players a whole lot. When there are players involved, like Barnwell's projection was, I know there's kind of like late round picks, almost like pick swaps attached to it as well, like within rounds. But yeah, it's it's just you're dealing with a guy who not only had the back injury, but like he's had a couple concussions, I believe. Had his bell run pretty good last year, but I don't think wound up being diagnosed with a concussion.

So he's been banged up plenty. He's on the downslope statistically. He's got a contract that's too big. in the last year of his deal. I think it would have to be a team, like Zach said, with the Raiders, either with a ton of money or a team that's like, look, we're one, like, solid possession receiver away from getting to where we want to go. And then, you know, there's probably a few teams out there.

I keep looking at the Ravens for some reason, just because, like, them and the Titans are such an older veteran receiver haven. It almost seems too easy, too on the nose. But we'll see. It's hard for me to imagine more than the fifth or fourth for him. And look, there are some teams out there that value veterans that really like to have that veteran leadership. The question I ask is, if you trade them for a pick, is that pick going to replace the production that he's going to, that he's been putting on the field? I mean, I doubt it.

And also, I think we see now why Adi Mitchell was drafted, although they were probably looking at 80 Mitchell to replace Alec Pierce. And Alec Pierce said, hold up. I got something else to show you. But that was going to be the future right there. And then unfortunately, it just didn't work out. I would like to see if it has to go down, them being able to get a pick and a player,

because you definitely want a player who's well-versed in recognizing the coverage, who knows how to run the route tree is very precise with their routes. And a kid out of college just ain't that. You know, I'll confess that in my seven years in the league, I didn't really learn how to run an out route until my seventh year. I mean, I had coaches that, you know, gave me instruction and use your athletic ability.

But when I got to Green Bay under Mike Holmgren, they said, you run the out route this way? And I was like, damn, wish I would have known this mess when I was a rookie. How many more passes I would have caught? Just running an out route where they cannot cover you, where you accelerate going on your out route instead of stuttering and stopping and, you know, trying to make a move on somebody. When you could just outrun somebody.

And so that's, I guess, you're taking a step backwards for the, sake of saving a few dollars, but saving a few dollars is what this business is. Yeah. And, you know, I think what we're talking about with this, too, is like, it's not just a subtraction with no addition, right? Like, you're not just saving money just to put it in your pocket as an owner, right? It's about reallocating that money to other areas of the roster. So we might sit here and say the passing game would take a slight step back or you would

lose an element of the passing game and have to redefine what your passing game is, maybe more 12 personnel than what they even ran last year to counteract that. But would the increase that we would get in terms of being able to add Front 7 help and free agency be a better chance of winning games next season? That's kind of the push-pull. You know, the push-pull isn't just like, how does our passing game look with Pittman and how does it look without it? It's how does our team and how does this impact wins more?

Does having Pittman Jr. at $29 million help us win more games? or does having no Pittman, which hurts the offense a little bit, for sure, but a better pass rush or a better front seven, in theory, help our team win more games. That's always what teams really have to navigate in the offseason. And like on paper, you never want to cut talent and get rid of good players, right? Like in the net, you would say, like, I'd rather have Michael Pittman Jr. than not. But if you can project out, hey, we can go get this pass rusher with the money we save,

or we can guarantee Al-F Pierce being back if we get. rid of Pittman rather than it being 50-50 if we try to keep Pittman something like that then it can be more of a conversation so that's what always makes the team building aspect of this hard and especially with why you need a lot of guys with economics degrees in your building as well it's not like madden where you can just kind of like it has the number where it tells you everything you actually have to go through all this but yeah it's it's always pretty difficult to uh to bounce through this but i understand the perspective of one to keep michael pitman junior i just think that from the Colts perspective, it's about reallocating that money out of that wide

receiver room when you're about to pay Alec Pierce into a more needy area, which is D-Line or linebacker. Yeah, and I'm not trying to be a jerk about it, but like $29 million to me is just a non-starter. Like you can't possibly bring him back for $29. You just can't do it. I mean, if Michael Pittman Jr. has the same exact season that he had last year, which is no sure thing that he's even going to do that, you're overpaying big time to. pay him $29 million and you know other people saying well who you're going to get and yes it depends on

reallocating some of those funds but i think if he's not willing to restructure or have that conversation then i think you just have to go ahead and cut him i mean honestly that's it's you're weighing sort of the pros and cons of the situation and would i rather have the 24 million to reallocate or would i rather have pitman for that number and the answer to me is is pretty simple and i'm not again i'm not saying that to be like cold-hearted or anything like that just it's it goes to like you say, Alan, the business aspect of these decisions that have to be made. And remember the unwritten rule that if you're going to take a pay cut, you don't take it for the team you're playing for.

You take it to go someplace else. That's typically what happens. Yeah. Now, we did see one exemption to it last year with Brayden Smith coming back at a pay cut to play an indie. So maybe there is just this different atmosphere with the Colts that go against that rule. But I think the only thing we can fully guarantee what at 100% by the, end of this. I don't know which way this all ultimately goes with Pittman Jr.

I know for a fact, though, he is not playing a $29 million cap hit next season. There is no chance whatsoever. As jokes are saying in the comments, both sides have known about this upcoming year for a long time. The $29 million cap hit with only $5 million guaranteed, he was never intended to play on that. Whether it was an extension, a cut, whatever, that's why he signed the shorter deal. That's why it's coming down to this. That's why it was such a front-loaded contract with guarantees. So there could be this potential renegotiation at the end of it. Even if Pittman Jr. was a top five receiver in football right now, he wouldn't be playing at this $29 million contract this next season. It's getting touched regardless. It just comes down to

how the Colts move it. If it's a cut, restructure, void ears on there, a trade, whatever it's going to be. He's not playing at $29 million. But the real question is, what do they do with that? And that's going to be one of the big dominoes for the Colts this all season. Why are the Colts better equipped to survive losing Michael Pittman, Jr? If it does come to that, we'll take a look at that wide receiver room for 2026 when the Colts Squad Show returns next. This portion of the Colts Squad Show brought you by our friends at Indeed, workplace chaos, deadline stacking up, inbox overflowing.

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Appreciate you being here with us. And we've got a healthy comment room on YouTube, which we really appreciate as well alongside Alan Pinkett, former decorated NFL and collegiate running back at Notre Dame and mostly with the Houston Oilers, among some other NFL teams. Zach Hicks, Jake Arthur of Locked on Colts. I am Derek Schultz. We're talking about Michael Pittman Jr. for one more segment and what that Colts wide receiver room could look like if they decided to move on.

And I want to attach a qualifier here, assuming Alec Pierce's resign. Now, we've all been adamant that the goal is going to make that a priority. But he is technically a free agent, right? He's not under the contract. So they are going to have to, the two sides are going to have to come to a deal. But we're going to be talking about this, assuming that Alec Pierce ends up being resigned. And I still think even without Michael Pittman Jr., It's a room that is productive and even still has some potential.

I mean, I still think that Alec Pierce can get even better. I think Josh Downs can get better. I mean, he had a little bit of an uneven year, I think, this past year. Ashton Duhans is going to play for like 25 years and be great. Like, Ashton Duhens is going to be in 2070. He's still going to be doing what he's doing. And then, you know, maybe a day two pick. I don't know.

Zach, maybe you could talk a little bit about what the wide receiver class looks like here. And then, you know, you go a little bit deeper on the roster. you have Coleman Owen on a futures deal who had a nice offseason last year and Anthony Gould. And I think you have to throw Tyler Warren into this conversation as well, even though he's a tight end just because he's a past catcher and he factors in to how you view this offense. But look, again, Michael Pittman Jr., productive, solid player, locker room leader as well. But the cupboard isn't bare, right, Zach? Yeah, it would have been nice. I still have Ad. Mitchell and all this and, you know, which that 80 Mitchell was in the doghouse.

he was early in the season, you know, because this would have been the perfect time for A.D. Mitchell to step up and be that guy in Pittman's role. I actually think he would have projected better to Pittman's role than he ever did in Pierce's role as a player. But that's all, you know, water under the bridge at this point. But yeah, I think they're better equipped in a sense where, you know, when we talk about replacing a player or just changing the dynamics of it, it doesn't have to be one to one. You know, the Colts were, even though last year they did lean more into 12 and 13 personnel than

they ever have, which is two and three tight-end sets for those falling at home, it still was a primarily 11 personnel team, but they can just up, they can still up that 12 and 13 personnel percentage, you know, to counteract some of not having the same wide receiver room you have. You can insert more of Alec Pierce on those 12 personnel sets and he can play more of that pitman blocking and, you know, RPO glance routes and stuff like that. I think Pierce can do those things that Pittman could do as well. And then you have to factor in just where the focal points of the offense are. Now, for such a long time, it was Michael Pittman Jr. at number one.

But now I think your number one targets are probably Tyler Warren is probably your top target. Pierce is your big time target down the field, obviously. Taylor is your big time threat in the running game. And they got him more involved in the passing game last year as well. So they can replace the production a little bit. I will say this, though. it's not going to be super easy just to find a third receiver that can be as capable of Pittman Jr.

You know, this would be a drop-off for sure. And there's nobody out here who loves Ashton Doolin more than I do, but it's very difficult to project Ashton Doolan, a career special team or a career great special teamer, an occasional spot starter, to now all of a sudden, hey, you have to fill Michael Pittman Jr's shoes, you know, or it's maybe not even fair to ask a draft pick of that. We saw how difficult it was for A.D. Mitchell in his first couple of seasons. We saw how difficult it was for Alec Pierce, his first two seasons, to step into that prominent role. And it had to be veterans that kind of had to pick up the slack a little bit. So it's going to be hard to replace that production if you do end up losing Michael Pittman, Jr. I think they're better equipped for it because, again, the offense runs through Warren. It runs through Stuyken's ability to scheme guys open.

It runs through the big play with Alec Pierce. But you would certainly take a hit on offense. I think you would kind of replace his production. by committee a little bit more Josh Downs on the outside and 12 personnel are just two wide receiver sets. I think you would get dueling on the field a little bit more. And then like you said, Derek, some sort of draft pick. I think it's, you know, a lot of people are saying they love this wide receiver draft. I think it's fine. I don't, I don't think it's a great wide receiver class. I think it's a lot of good, like, role players, you know, like you can find, like if you're

looking for a tough guy who can catch balls over the middle and create after the catch, I think you can find that in this draft. Will you find a complete number one wide receiver outside of like the top 10 probably not in this draft? So, you know, if you're drafting for a home run pick, I don't think you're going to find that where the Colts would be taken. But I think you can take a guy where it's like, hey, Michael Pittman Jr. brought this toughness over the middle, big body, good hands. We just need to find someone who can fill that type of role. I think you can find a guy like that in this draft. I like the guy from Alabama. I think I can't remember his name on top my head, but he's. Jeremy Bernard.

Yeah, Jeremy Bernard, perfect. I think he's a type of guy who could fill a similar role to that with his ability to catch the ball over the middle and make those tough receptions. So there are archetypes that fit what the Colts look for, but you're not going to replace the impact that Pittman Jr. has had the last couple of years. That's just not going to happen.

You would just have to manufacture offense in other ways, which I think the Colts have shown that they have the ability to do that, especially with Shane Steichen being the type of play caller that he is. Yeah, the tough thing about. replacing Pittman on one side, luckily, as Alan mentioned, he is more of a complimentary piece now. So you're not really replacing 2021 or 223 Pittman where every target ran through him. But at the same time, you do need what I feel is a bit more than a possession receiver. And you can't really count on Ashton Doolan just becoming Zach Paskill.

Like the Colts kind of lucked into Zach Paskell being able to handle what he did like when Ty Why Hilton was banged up. Doolin is nice in spots and like what he does is really solid. But like asking him to expand that and relying on it in such a win now year is kind of tough. And at the same time, I am not a big fan of almost ever getting receivers in the free agent market. I think they're too expensive and anyone worthwhile is going to be. be in too high demand and again just priced out. But receivers outside the first round take a while to acclimate to the NFL much of the time. So if you're getting Bernard, Chris Brasel, Malachi field, someone really good Omar Cooper Jr. in like the second round, even those guys may not be

able to just plop into your lap and give you 60, 70 catches like you need them to. So you almost have to overpay. Like, there's only a few guys on the free agent receiver market who I think could maybe give you what Pitman gave you, but for a little less money. Like, we know George Pickens and Alec Pierce, they're going to make a zillion dollars, but we looked at like Romeo Dobbs the other day, who's projected around like 15 million per year. It's not great, but he's probably your next most intriguing receiver that could handle a decent workload, like a Michael Pittman Jr. would be counted on to use. So free agent market is not great,

but you might have to do it to get more of an instant impact that you need because you can't really wait on draft picks right now, which sucks because it's in the long term, easily the better option. Because if you ask me, if you would rather have one of those guys I mentioned a couple years from now or Dobbs or, you know, who are Nick Westbrook at Keenna or something now,

I would easily say the draft picks, but how are they going to help you this year when you have to win or everyone's fired, basically? You know what I mean? It's a really awful spot to be in, which almost makes you think that they probably need to just work something out with Pitman, but I know we're just kind of going through an exercise here

where it's a done deal. He doesn't want to take a pay cut or what have you, but. It seems like a good idea to try and make it work. Or maybe we can just tell the Colts management, it's only money. What are you worried about? You're going to make more. Right, exactly.

Assuming that Pittman isn't there, it will be a hit to that offense. Because there was a rhythm associated with that office when you had all those guys out there. And it put a lot of stress on the defense. So you eliminate one guy. It will affect that offense. And so how do you combat that? You either got to replace it with speed. I mean, somebody that is just going to take the top off the defense, somebody like a Tyreek Hill,

maybe not Tyreek Hill himself, but someone like that who no one can catch up to or size. You got to just have a big body. And Pitmole was kind of a little bit of both, both size and speed at 6'4, but still fleet of foot. And those guys are just hard to find. And so it makes me think about Zach, what you said, about 12 and 13 personnel. I think back to like those old Patriot teams that had two tight ends. And no, they weren't running by anybody, but they sure didn't make a lot of first downs. And they won a lot of games.

And I also think about, you know, the Ravens, the Ravens would do a lot of 12 personnel. And they made it to the playoffs just about every year. So I think if you can replace a Pittman with another big receiver, more so a tight end and run that offense that way, maybe you increase the value of an Alec Pierce because, you know, when they are beating your ass with these big tight ends, just pounding on everybody and they want to finally try and come up and squat on the route, that's when Alec Pierce gets behind you.

So it can be done, but this offense is going to take a hit. So they're going to have to find a way to establish or reestablish that rhythm. than that they had this past year. You know, Zach, you had talked about the fact that, you know, both sides know what's up with this and probably have been, you know, thinking about this for a long time, if not talking about it for a long time. I'm putting you on the spot a little bit here. And Jake, you can kind of chime in here, too.

If we're to make like a pie chart of the likelihood of Michael Pittman Jr. returning or Michael Pittman Jr., the Colts moving on from it, I mean, what are we talking about here? 6040 thing, a 70-30 thing, 50-50. Is it a coin flip? Do you have an inkling either way, either of you guys? Yeah. So again, I need to stipulate this. I'm not an insider whatsoever. So never take what my guess is here as inside information. I never want to be known as an insider. Don't ever put me in that category. Purely off of my vibes. Zach Hicks vibes here. I think for any other organization, I would say like a 50-50 or probably even like 60-40 that he would be moved this offseason. But what we know about Chris Ballard, what we know about how the Indianapolis Colts operate, I'd say 60-40 stay, 65-35 stay in some capacity.

Also, again, Michael Pittman Jr. owns a farm. He's really settled his roots here. I think he's going to want to try to work a way to stay in Indianapolis. I think he did a podcast in the middle of the season with Amun Rau St. Brown, a player he played with in college, where he mentioned that he doesn't know if he'd ever go back to the West Coast. He grew up in California, you know, played his college ball in California. And he kind of said that his roots are kind of an indie. Like when he retires, he might, you know, live out the rest of his days in indie. This is where he lives now. So I think they'll figure out something to get him to stay, especially with how the Colts.

And, you know, Chris Ballard loves Pittman Jr. to death. I just think purely from a business perspective, it probably makes more sense to find a way to move that contract. But with how the Colts like to operate, I think they're going to find some way to keep him here. Even if I kind of struggle with how they're going to do that, I think that Ballard will find some way to keep his boy around here. Yeah, I lean more into that as well. I'd probably even go about 70, 30. It's just number one, you have to have two to tango, even if they were trying to shop him. you have to have teams willing to take those parameters as well.

But I do think Pittman is going to want to try and play ball a little bit here. Now, he's not going to totally gut his pay, I'm sure. But I'm sure he's willing to take some concessions to stick around. You know, like Zach mentioned so much of this is personal stuff. You know, he's got an ever-growing family. He has laid down roots with this farm. like he has gotten into Midwestern activities he's like flying planes now he loves fishing like the guy has really really acclimated into Indiana life and you know you we've seen recent

examples that like why wouldn't a guy like de Forest Buckner demand his way out a couple years ago you know what I mean like sometimes these guys just enjoy where they're at and it's sometimes best for their family so if the Colts come to it right with not a disrespectful offer to stick around. And Pittman's willing to play ball a little bit and, you know, understand that $29 million is an unreal figure for this year. I really, it's harder for me to imagine him actually being moved or outright cut. Because I feel like, you know, 70% they figure it out, you know,

20% a trade, 10% outright release. he's probably even less than the 10%, you know. But it's hard for me to think that he won't be around. Do I think the contract gets maneuvered somehow? Absolutely. Because it has to be. But it's really hard for me to think he's not going to be around after this year or this year. And I can understand guys liking being here.

I mean, I like to be here in Indianapolis. I'm not from here. I'd like to raise my family here, you know, cost of living and all of that. I think something else that comes into the conversation too is, and again, this is going to make me sound mean spirit. but something else to like about being with this franchise is that you know that you could just go 8 and 9 and 8 and 9 and 8 and you're never going to be cut, right?

So that's the other thing that kind of weighs into this as well, I think. For the first time in their 40-year history, the Colts may be getting a roommate in their own state. We're going to talk about that. It's the big NFL news of the day as we wrap up the Colts Squad show next. Hey, it's Matt Derry from the Lockdown Lions podcast. The people I love depend on me. If I'm gone, the financial responsibilities,

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Ethos.com slash lockdown NFL application times and rates may vary. Back for a final time in the Lockdown Colts squad show. Really appreciate you guys hang in with us. Zach Hicks, Jake Arthur, Alan Pinkett, Derek Schultz, hello. Look, and I always say this, whenever something happens that is burning red hot, specifically, you know, I'm in Indianapolis, Jake is in indie proper. Alan's in a different part of the state, but he's in the state of Indiana, and Zach is always with us here kind of in spirit. I understand that a lot of people that are watching on YouTube are in, you know,

we have some viewers that are in California or whatever else. Like, they don't know where Hammond, Indiana is, and they probably don't really. care about Hammond, Indiana. So, but this is such a big NFL news story today. If you guys didn't see this somehow, Indiana lawmakers in the state's House and Ways and Means Committee unanimously approved an amendment that would clear a path for the Bears to build their stadium over, right over the state line. I mean, Hammett is literally right on the Illinois, Indiana state line.

And the Bears released the statement, even called it, you know, marking it the most meaningful step forward in their stadium. planning efforts to date. I think this was originally a flirtation that a lot of us viewed with skepticism, like, okay, yeah, the Bears are going to bring Indiana in because they want Illinois to give them what they wanted. But, you know, this may actually be a deal that the Bears can't turn away from. I don't know, Zach, I think it's kind of interesting to think that you'd have two different

NFL teams in the same state, not that that would be unprecedented. We see that in other states, but here in Little Indiana, that'd be, I think, an interesting storyline for sure. Yeah, it is interesting. and it's not something that we haven't seen with like teams being called one thing, like they're in one city or they're in one state or whatever, and then they end up having the stadium in a different state entirely. Isn't it like Buffalo or something or one of those teams is in like Jersey, correct?

Or something like that? The Jets and Giants play in East Rutherford for New York. That's what it was. New Jersey. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So, yeah, it is kind of funny overall, but I feel so foreign to this conversation because, like,

everyone's talking about like the bears being out of Illinois or it would be so weird. I'm like, man, the local team to me, their stadiums in a different state every 20 years. They changed. They were in DC, then they were in Maryland and now they're coming to Virginia. So I just find it very like interesting, just how like they move states completely all the time around here. But I wonder what like Indianapolis fans think is like what you said, Derek, like that area of Indianapolis. or just that area of Indiana, excuse me, is kind of Bears County already, right? Because it's already closer to the Bears.

Like, Alan, aren't you kind of living close to that area there? It takes me 45 minutes to get to downtown Chicago. This is Bears country where I am. Yeah, so, like, it doesn't feel like that big of a change. It is interesting how far this is going, though, because, like we've seen in the comments here, people are saying, like, this feels like it was a leverage play or it still is a leverage play,

but they're flirting with a little bit more than leverage play right now. You know, it feels like that like in free agency where it's like, oh, they're using this team for leverage. And they sign with that team. And it's like, oh, well, they got given the bag. And they might be given the bag by Indiana. So we'll see. I'm curious what natives to Indiana think because, as Derek said, I'm more of there in spirit.

I'm more, you know, I'm 14 hours away. So I'm there in spirit, not in physicality. So it doesn't really affect me too much. but I find it very interesting the whole storyline of it. And just, again, like you said, Derek, Indiana potentially having two stadiums would be really interesting for the state. Not to get too political, but the Indiana government does have a little fascination with the state of Illinois right now. So I wouldn't be surprised that this is included in that. Yeah, this doesn't move the needle a ton for me.

I mean, cities all the time or teams all the time use other areas. and so forth to get what they want when it comes to stadiums and all that. I do think they probably called the city of Chicago's bluff a little bit because if you're the city of Chicago, you're like, where you go on to Hammond, Indiana? That sounds ridiculous. And I bet, yeah, we are. So we'll see. I mean, if Chicago is, like, they are one of those teams where the identity of the city

and the team are so intertwined. it would be a little ridiculous for the bears to move over here to Indiana, even if it is still, it's more Illinois and it's more Chicago than it is Indiana. But, you know, it is what it is, whatever they need to do to get the job done. I don't love that it probably would, again, as an Indiana resident, I don't love that.

We probably would be paying extra taxes on that. That's kind of a real world thing, but I don't know. It is what it is. Do we think they're going to pack up and leave in the middle of the night like the Ursa's did back in the day? I don't know. What's the best trucking company in Northwest Indiana? Right, right. We'll be following all the trucking companies.

Two men in the truck. There you go. College hunks, hauling junk. College. I think what's interesting about it, though, you know, is the fact that, you know, Zach, you had mentioned that all these, you know, the RFPA and all these, Washington stadiums had been in different places, but like Allen, Chicago, like,

Soldier Field Lakeshore Drive, like it wasn't in some suburb. You know what I mean? Like, it was Chicago. And then you're going from Matt to Hammond. I think that would be a shock to the system a little bit. And this is coming from somebody that is completely indifferent towards the bears. It is tearing at the emotions of the people in Chicago because it's part of their personality, Soldier Field and the Bears.

And I guess the question I would ask you is, do you foresee the Cubs moving from Wrigley Field? No, because it's part of their identity. Victory field. And so, you know, yes, there is business to be had and I guess a sizable profit you could make. But you sort of tear away at the fabric of the team in the city by putting them in Hammond. And you know how stadiums like to do these overhead shots? At least in Chicago, you could look at the lake, you could look at the skyline. You ain't going to see, well, you know what I mean.

You're not going to see anything in Hammond. I think the best thing in Hammond, and I don't even know if it's in Hammond, is lost Mars golf course, which I think is on top of a landfill. Yeah. And, you know, and I'm not trying to dog Hammond, but I've been through Hammond plenty of times that, you know, I consider it sort of like flyover country. But, you know, the name of the game is to make the team more profitable. But every single NFL team is profitable. You know, and so, if.

the Bears management is just doing this for a money grab. I think the fans would eventually get over it because it's still their Chicago Bears. And like you say, the Giants and the Jets play in New Jersey, even though they're New York teams. And the fans seem to have dealt with that pretty well. You know, the thing is, if the team wins, everybody's going to be fine. But if they lose, then you might see a little bit of a drop off.

I feel like such an old man when it comes to, like, thinking about things like this. Because my brain just went, well, like, you know, if Hammond is like flyover stuff, if I ever went to a bear's game, that would be such a more comfortable area for me to be than in a city. I never want to go to a city. I'm such an old, the traffic. Just because of the crowds. Yeah. You're not a crowds guy.

Oh, that's the best part in the crowds. There's great people watching. Right. So for people who like make an event out of going into games, right? Like there's nothing in Hammond at all. It's just like pure like rural area. There's a casino. They have a lake that's. It's clearly popular. And I think the stadium's going to be near the side of the lake. If I understand that they haven't picked the exact parcel of land, but it's going to be somewhere over in that area.

And there's oil refineries over there too. Yeah. It's industrial, right? Like it's just, you know, the region just in general, like there's a pride for people that are from the region. And it's it's kind of an underdog story, which ties in nicely with just Indiana culture in general. And I think it could be transformational for that area over there. So I think in that sense, it's interesting to me as a state of Indiana resident. But, you know, what the bears decide to do, I'm not going to lose any sleep over it, right? I mean, they're not even in the same conference as the Colts.

There's just outside of that one Super Bowl that they played each other, there's just not even really a lot of connected tissue between the two franchises, but it would be interesting to have them be co-inhabitants in the same state. Whoa, there is some connected tissue. Where did Chris Ballard get his start in the NFL with the Chicago Bears, baby? Here we go. These are Ballard's two teams. He's fighting for the Bears to come back.

He loves the Bears. You did Matt I will say this. Leave the Colts for? Yeah. Yeah, Matt Eber Fluse. Yeah, there you go. Yeah. If the Bears do come to Indiana, zero effect on the Colts.

Right. Zero. I mean, when I walk around to a store gas station, I see very few Colts shirts or Colts paraphernalia. In fact, the thing, I see a lot more Bears gear being worn in this region of the country. And it's very rare to see Colts. So the Colts own like the middle of the state, all right? But in this, you know, Northwest Corridor, we're basically a suburb of Chicago where I live. And so it's it's all bears.

And there are strong, strong emotional ties, not just to the team, but the game day experience. Going to that stadium that is in the city that's cold, you know, some of the coldest games. that have been recorded have been at that stadium. But that's part of the experience. You know, so I don't know. What was the closer to the deal that this would be some sort of dome or retractable roof type stadium? I think it's all money. It's all money.

And tax abatements and things that I don't, you know, I'm going to call my dad to be like, hey, he's a retired CPA. Hey, dad, what does this mean? What's bonds? You know what I mean? Yeah, yeah. Well, I do know this, that the meeting that was scheduled in Illinois to sort of combat this was put on pause, you know. And Indiana, to their credit, they moved very, very fast to come up with a plan, you know.

So I think that Mr. Warren and the brass at the bears really, really like that. And it's hard, hard to turn it down. but in my heart of hearts, I think they're going to stay in Chicago because they are the Chicago Bears. Yeah, and just like the Bears might be using Indiana a little bit for leverage. Indiana can use them for a PR win. They've already won just getting its PR to see how close the Bears came because I don't think a lot of people thought that it was going to get this far down the road.

But we'll keep our eyes on it. And obviously we'll keep our eyes on the Colts because this is, in fact, the Locked on Colts Squad Show. Thanks so much for joining us on this latest edition. We'll be back with you on Tuesday night. 9 o'clock. That's our time for the offseason schedule Tuesdays and Thursdays. So keep it locked right here.

And as always, the Colts news cycle never really goes quiet. So listen to Jake and Zach every day. Your first listen every day on Locked on Colts. Be sure to follow at Locked on Colts on socials. Check out other great content on YouTube and TikTok. And we'll see you next time right here on the squad show.