INDIANAPOLIS -- Colts wide receiver Alec Pierce, fresh off his four-year $114 million contract extension, still faces many weeks of recovery from left ankle surgery he underwent in March, he said Wednesday.
The return timeline, which Pierce said can range from four to six months, could keep him out well into training camp and past the preseason.
Pierce tried to avoid surgery, but consistent soreness in his ankle last season strongly suggested the issue needed to be addressed, he said.
He didn't specify the nature of the injury, but he said the issue has been lingering since 2024 and was getting progressively worse.
"It definitely got a little bit worse as the season went and probably the last month, I'd say I was kind of struggling ... Taking some days off [from practice] and stuff. I'm glad they kind of figured out what the issue was."
Pierce and his doctors attempted a different course of treatment after the season, but it did not yield results. Pierce said he underwent platelet rich plasma treatment in January, with doctors telling him to allow six to eight weeks for the approach to take effect. Ultimately, though, Pierce didn't experience enough improvement from the treatment, which he described as a "Band-Aid type of solution."
"It didn't fix the problem," he said.
Pierce said doctors told him surgery was probably in the cards whether it be this offseason or in 2027, and he and medical staff collectively decided to move forward with the procedure now.
But the timing wasn't ideal. Pierce underwent surgery in the weeks following signing his contract, though he attributed the timing to the platelet treatment and not to an effort to avoid interfering with free agency.
Now, it's a matter of being appropriately aggressive in his rehab while also displaying the necessary patience to let the ankle heal.
"I think obviously we want the [return] to be as early as possible," he said. "But you've kind of got to let your body guide yourself and see how you feel. Because what I'm learning with the rehab is the more you overdo it, the more sore you get. It kind of can sometimes be counterproductive."
