Steichen defends Colts' handling of WR Pierce's heel injury

INDIANAPOLIS -- Colts coach Shane Steichen defended the team's decision-making around Alec Pierce's heel injury, saying the club acted prudently in allowing the wide receiver to return to the field after offseason surgery.

Pierce -- who Steichen said will be placed on injured reserve after a recurrence of his heel injury and will rehab in hopes of returning later this season -- returned to the lineup late last month after a lengthy absence following heel surgery in March.

The Colts were managing Pierce's snaps and practice reps to allow him to ramp up slowly after five months of rehab, but Pierce played in each of the Colts' first two games. He left Sunday's game late in the first quarter in obvious pain and was still unable to put any weight on his left foot after the game.

"We went through that rebab process, he hit all his landmarks, hit all his benchmarks, and then obviously we eased him back into practice," Steichen said. "The trainers and doctors felt good about it, [Pierce] felt good about it to go play; we limited him in practice working those first two weeks, he had limited reps Week 1.

"Injuries happen. You never want to see it happen, but we would have never put him on the field if we didn't feel good about it and he didn't feel good about it."

Now, the Colts will hope Pierce can overcome the heel issue once more, as the player and team have agreed to a plan of rehabilitation after consultation with multiple physicians. Asked if an additional surgery is on the table, Steichen suggested that is not currently being discussed.

All of the physicians the Colts consulted recommended that Pierce should address the issue with rehab, a source told ESPN. Surgery has not been discussed as of now, the source said.

The reinjury comes months after Pierce signed a four-year, $114 million contract in March, setting him up to be the team's featured receiver following his first 1,000-yard season in 2025.

Pierce's injury prompted the Colts to address their need for a deep threat. For that, they turned to veteran free agent Darius Slayton, who signed with the club Tuesday. Slayton, a longtime teammate of Colts quarterback Daniel Jones' with the New York Giants, was scheduled to practice Wednesday afternoon and hopes to play Sunday against the Houston Texans. The matchup features two winless AFC South rivals looking for a sorely needed victory.

"He's got some juice for sure," Steichen said of Slayton. "I watched him over the last couple years. He still makes big plays, contested catches. We're excited to have him."

Steichen added that Slayton "has got a good rapport with [Jones]."

"I've been doing as much studying as I can," Slayton said Wednesday. "Fortunately, the system is pretty intuitive just from what I've seen in the past day. So, I'm going to obviously try my best to learn as fast as I can and be able to provide an impact as early as I can."

Pierce led the NFL in yards per catch in each of the past two seasons. The Colts are tied for 30th in the NFL with just two pass attempts of 20 or more air yards.