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[JAFF]

Colts WR Michael Pittman Jr. on possible extension: 'I wouldn't mind one'

WESTFIELD -- Colts receiver Michael Pittman Jr. spent a good portion of Tuesday's practice talking with running back Jonathan Taylor on the sideline.

He, too, knows what it's like to be a free agent. But the spots they're in are somewhat reversed.

Pittman Jr. has been all smiles, jokes and warm energy so far in his fourth training camp. His goals are still enormous as they always are, and he likes to remind people that he hasn't accomplished much. But he still doesn't seem remotely threatened by the looming end of his contract.

"If it happens, it happens," Pittman Jr. said. "But if it doesn't happen, yeah, I'll play it out without an extension."

But does he want one?

"I think every player wants to get paid," Pittman said. "I wouldn't mind one."

Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr. (11) speaks with Indianapolis Colts running back Jonathan Taylor (28) ahead of practice Monday, July 31, 2023, during training camp at the Grand Park Sports Campus in Westfield, Indiana.
Taylor, meanwhile, has requested a trade since he realizes a contract isn't coming from the Colts this year. He has yet to practice while on the Physically Unable to Perform List.

This showcases the glaring difference in positions and market value, and the options each man gets to weigh in his life.


Pittman grew up trying to play running back like his father did for 11 years in the NFL. Michael Pittman Sr. noticed how tall his son was getting and knew it would never work. And he also spotted a better lifestyle if he had the drive to get to the league.

“I was a good running back," Pittman Jr. said. "I just looked at him like, ‘This guy doesn’t know anything.' My dad had played running back for 11 years, but he doesn’t know football. I shrugged it off.”


GO DEEPER: The multiple personalities of Michael Pittman Jr.

It turns out the elder Pittman saw plenty in his son and the way the sport they loved would age. Pittman Jr. grew into a five-star recruit and then a Biletnikoff Award finalist and then a second-round draft pick of the Colts. He's been their leading receiver for the past two years, though he has yet to perform quite up to the lofty standards he's set for himself.

But even if he posts another season like the past two, with between 900 and 1,100 yards and four and six touchdowns, he could be one of the top players available in free agency. Christian Kirk topped out at 982 yards and five touchdowns in his contract year with the Cardinals in 2021, and he landed a deal worth four years, $72 million with $37 million guaranteed.

Spotrac.com estimates Pittman Jr.'s market value right now at $18.4 million per season over four years, and that's before he turns in a fourth season.


No running back right now can land a contract that sniffs anything like that. Miles Sanders landed the biggest one this year at four years and $25.4 million with $13 million guaranteed, and that came after 1,269 yards and 11 touchdowns last season.

The Vikings cut Dalvin Cook after a fourth straight Pro Bowl season and he remains unsigned at age 27. Saquon Barkley had to settle for a one-year, $10.09 million deal that only sneaks above the franchise tag amount with incentives. Josh Jacobs has yet to sign his franchise tag or show up at Raiders training camp.

If Pittman Jr. were to receive the franchise tag next year, it would be for at least $19.74 million. It would only delay his entry into free agency, where the demand for wide receivers is not likely to die down in a passing league. The league features 13 receivers who are making more than $20 million annually, led by Tyreek Hill at $30 million per season.

Pittman Jr. is expected to aim high in free agency. He's looking to provide for a family of four that just added a son, Michael Pittman III, earlier this summer. He doesn't display any nerves about what the contract or situation will look like.

"I feel like I'll flourish in any scheme," Pittman Jr. said. "I feel good about any scheme."

[JAFF]

WESTFIELD — The Colts put the offense through arguably the most comprehensive practice of training camp so far Thursday, finishing off the session with a red-zone period for all three quarterbacks and a two-minute drill for Anthony Richardson and Gardner Minshew.

Richardson took the first-team snaps for the second consecutive practice, a decision Indianapolis head coach Shane Steichen attributed to the snaps Richardson lost when he was forced to sit out Monday’s practice due to a nasal procedure.

Ultimately, the offense still has some wrinkles that need to be ironed.

Richardson completed 8 of 13 passes, including a touchdown to running back Evan Hull and an interception to Darrell Baker Jr. Minshew completed 9 of 16 throws.


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But the operation was far from smooth. Backup center Wesley French had two bad snaps to Minshew, including one that flew over the quarterback’s head, and Richardson dropped a snap from Ryan Kelly, although the rookie was able to pick up the ball and get it out of the pocket. At least three flags were thrown by the referees, and three passes were batted at the line — two thrown by Minshew, one by Richardson.

Richardson tossed the touchdown pass in the red zone to Hull, and Deon Jackson burst through the line for the touchdown on the next play. Backup quarterback Sam Ehlinger led the third-team offense to three touchdowns on three plays, but outside of those red-zone successes, the practice was plagued by inconsistent play.

Indianapolis Colts Head Coach Shane Steichen watches the players during Colts Camp practice at Grand Park, Tuesday, Aug. 1, 2023 in Westfield.
One of Minshew’s batted passes should have been intercepted; veteran cornerback Kevin Toliver failed to secure a floating ball that hit him in the chest, prompting Toliver to get down and do pushups as penance. Minshew’s red-zone period included a fumbled snap and a play where it looked like the quarterback would have been sacked in a live setting.


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In the two-minute drill, Richardson’s first two throws were incomplete, including a pass batted down by defensive end Genard Avery, and when he pulled down to run for the first down on third-and-10, linebackers Grant Stuard and Zaire Franklin would have tackled him short of the first-down marker if he hadn’t been wearing a red jersey. Colts coaches let the drill keep going, and the rookie followed up the decision with three completions in four attempts, hitting Michael Pittman Jr., Kylen Granson and Josh Downs to set up Matt Gay for a 59-yard field goal.

Gay blasted that kick through the uprights, hitting the ball so hard that it looked like it might have been good from another 5 yards or so.

Minshew’s two-minute drill had some of the same inconsistencies, although second-year tight end Drew Ogletree shined, making a short catch on the first play of the drill and a key diving grab on third-and-long to keep the drive alive later. Minshew was 4 of 8 in the series, taking into account a checkdown to Hull that the referees on the field ruled complete, but a pass that would likely have been incomplete with replay available — Hull’s foot came down out of bounds.

A play later, a completion to Hull set Gay up for a 43-yard field goal, but he missed wide right.


Franklin’s fury

Franklin broke out with a record-setting season as a tackler last year, and he’s shown no signs of slowing down in his quest to follow it up.

Franklin has opened almost every practice with a big play, and he made another at the start of 11-on-11 work on Thursday, reading a play correctly and attacking Richardson in the backfield for a play that likely would have been a tackle-for-loss in a real game.

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Sleeper to watch

Baker Jr. is arguably the most unheralded player competing for a starting cornerback job.

But he’s making the most of his opportunity, Baker made a leaping interception in front of Alec Pierce early in the practice, and made another nice play during Richardson’s two-minute drill to break up a short throw over the middle.

Colts Insider:Who will emerge as starting cornerbacks out of young Colts group?

Undrafted out of Georgia Southern, Baker Jr. was cut by the Cardinals in training camp, latched on with the Indianapolis practice squad and made his NFL debut on special teams late in the season.

“He’s made quite a few plays for us in practice now,” defensive coordinator Gus Bradley said. “It seems like every day, (when) we’re showing the things that we need to improve and things we’re doing well, he seems to be showing up in the things we’re doing well.”

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Injury report

Defensive tackle DeForest Buckner came up limping with a foot injury after a snap early in the 11-on-11 practice.

Buckner initially left the field under his own power with a trainer, was examined in the medical tent just outside the field and returned, although he did not play another snap. Buckner spent the rest of the practice watching.

Linebacker E.J. Speed was forced to miss practice with an ankle injury.

Two rookie cornerbacks who’d been held out of most of the first week of training camp due to injuries seem to be on the way back. Fifth-round pick Darius Rush (shoulder) practiced for the first time since the end of last week; second-round pick JuJu Brents (hamstring) was on the field working with trainers after the practice.

Defensive Samson Ebukam (hamstring), tight end Jelani Woods (hamstring), strong safety Julian Blackmon (hamstring), running back Zack Moss (broken arm), linebacker Liam Anderson (right arm in a sling), tackle Jake Witt (hip) and offensive guard Emil Ekiyor, Jr. did not practice.

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Quick hitters

Second-year defensive tackle Eric Johnson made a nice play, recognizing a screen to Isaiah McKenzie and making the play at the line of scrimmage. … Rookie defensive end Titus Leo, a sixth-round pick from Wagner, crushed McKenzie on back-to-back plays, chasing down short throws from behind the play and swallowing the diminutive player. … Veteran tight end Pharaoh Brown and undrafted wide receiver Kody Case caught touchdown passes from Ehlinger in the red zone. … Cornerback Isaac Taylor-Stuart broke up a pass during the two-minute drill.