INDIANAPOLIS — The news from the doctors was jarring: Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr.’s back was effectively broken. In the best-case scenario, a stint on injured reserve seemed inevitable. At worst, his entire season was in jeopardy.
But Pittman’s reaction to that 2024 injury was not what one might expect. After learning from physicians that he could play through the low-back fracture if he could tolerate the acute pain, Pittman decided to give it a go.
A few days later, Pittman was back on the field and scored the winning touchdown against the Tennessee Titans.
“I just feel like we have so much left that we’re playing for,” Pittman said then.
It was a testament to Pittman’s toughness, his teammates and coaches say. He refused to even publicly reveal the actual diagnosis until after the season, having downplayed the severity to avoid being disrespectful to teammates who were also playing hurt.
But Pittman’s performance in 2025 is now revealing something else: What he can do when healthy.
After 2024 became Pittman’s least productive season in four years because of the limitations of the injury, the Colts’ top wideout finally feels like himself, and results have followed. Pittman leads the 3-0 Colts in receiving yards (193) and receptions (16) heading into a Week 4 road game against the Los Angeles Rams (4:05 p.m. ET, Fox).
Impressively, Pittman has the second-highest catch percentage in the NFL for receivers with 10 or more targets, with his 16 receptions coming on 19 targets (84.2%). Naturally, he looks faster and nimbler now that his back is no longer broken. He is also a lot more content and confident.
“Oh, it feels great,” Pittman said. “Last year was probably the hardest year of my football career in terms of just the day-to-day getting through it. And I’m just so happy that everything that I did to get healthy and to this point has really paid off.”
Pittman has become a go-to target for Daniel Jones, helping to power the quarterback’s surprising start that has many around the league taking notice.
To say Pittman has come a long way is more than an understatement. He was visibly laboring at times last season. He was undergoing regular MRI exams to ensure his condition wasn’t worsening. He was sidelined during a November matchup with the Buffalo Bills after a particularly grueling week dealing with the injury.
But as much as the physical battle he was waging, the one in his mind was just as fierce.
“It’s more of just a mental game,” he said. “Your body is telling your mind that you can’t do it. And just every day you get up, you’re feeling the pain, the things that you used to be able to do, you can’t do anymore. So, your confidence goes down. You’re moving slow and you know that you’re moving slow, everybody else is telling you, you look terrible and you’re like, ‘Well, I’m out here trying my best with what I got right now.’ And they’re like, ‘Nah, you suck.'”
None of those things were being said within the walls of Colts headquarters, where Pittman only solidified the respect he’d long ago earned.
“One of the toughest guys I’ve been around,” coach Shane Steichen said. “Just phenomenal toughness.”
And no one is criticizing Pittman’s game this season, either, given how he’s performed.
Pittman has been a reliable receiver for Jones when it comes to making contested catches. He does have one drop through three weeks but, mostly, he’s been as sure-handed as ever. He’s also maximizing his catches, converting key first downs with yards after the catch. Some specific evidence: Pittman’s first-down rate (the percentage of targets that result in a first down) is 57.9% — on pace to easily be the highest of his career.
“He’s running around playing good football right now, isn’t he?” offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter said.
One aspect of Pittman’s game that has returned in a big way is his downfield blocking. He has always been a tone-setter in the Colts’ offense because of his physicality and willingness to mix it up with defenders in the running game. Even in his sixth season, and in the second year of a three-year, $70 million contract, Pittman hasn’t fallen off in this area.
“I don’t know if it’s been celebrated enough,” Cooter said. “I hadn’t read enough of the articles or whatever, but Pitt is blocking his tail off. I mean, there’s a lot of safeties down in the run game, and here comes No. 11 to block them. That’s really valuable for us. He’s out there playing fast. He’s having fun.”
Winning certainly is fun. So, too, is having some apparent consistency at quarterback. Pittman has seen a parade of starters at the position since he was drafted by the Colts in 2020. But Jones’ performance so far has easily trumped anything Pittman’s previous quarterbacks were able to achieve.
But, above all, Pittman’s rejuvenation in 2025 is about where he is now versus a year ago.
“I’m starting to feel like myself again,” he said. “Confidence is back up and I’m just excited to play every single week. And, honestly, I just wake up and I’m like, ‘How reckless can I be without hurting myself today?’ That’s just what I tell myself.”
