When Indianapolis Colts starting quarterback Daniel Jones needs a clutch catch in the heat of battle, he’s always looking for No. 11 downfield. Jones knows that Colts wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr. has been trustworthy, using his hands to secure the ball and maintain control on his receptions.
The Colts are 3-1 so far in the 2025 NFL season, and Pittman is one of the big reasons for the team’s early-season success. But he’s been a bit dinged up this week, leading into Indianapolis’ Week 5 contest against the Las Vegas Raiders.
What’s The Latest on Michael Pittman Jr.?
During the week, Pittman has been limited in practice due to a hamstring injury. Those can be tricky and cause players, especially wide receivers, a lot of problems. Will this keep Pittman out of Sunday’s game?
Not at all. Pittman is a full go for Sunday, according to Colts head coach Shane Steichen. In last week’s 27-20 loss to the Los Angeles Rams at SoFi Stadium, Pittman had five catches for 41 yards and one touchdown. He was targeted 10 times during the game, too. So far this season, Pittman has 21 catches for 234 yards and three touchdowns.
Pittman is averaging 11.1 yards per reception through four games. He was a second-round draft pick by Indianapolis in the 2020 NFL Draft out of USC. Pittman is in his sixth NFL season, all with the Colts.
Play-action pass to Michael Pittman Jr. to give Indy the lead!
INDvsLAR on FOX/FOX Onehttps://t.co/HkKw7uXnxV pic.twitter.com/JnTh0vf4pS
— NFL (@NFL) September 28, 2025
In his career, Pittman has 426 receptions for 4,704 yards and 21 touchdowns. He averages 11 yards per reception throughout his tenure with the Colts. Pittman has been targeted 627 times by Colts quarterbacks, too.
During Pittman’s first three seasons, he was also a threat to run with the ball. He had 11 carries for 100 rushing yards. Since then, though, Pittman has been solely looked upon to make clutch catches downfield. Pittman totaled six receptions, respectively, in the Colts’ victories over the Miami Dolphins and Tennessee Titans in the 2025 NFL season.
He’s only had eight drops among his 29 targets. Pittman’s sure hands are definitely something that gives Jones a lot more confidence when he gets loose downfield. Besides Pittman, Jones will also look for Adonai Mitchell and Ashton Dulin to play big roles in the Colts’ offense against the Raiders.
Alec Pierce, Pittman’s fellow starter at wide receiver, will be out on Sunday. Jones, though, has enough weapons to make up for Pierce’s absence. This is just another sign that Pittman needs to have a big game on Sunday and keep Indianapolis on a hot streak.
