Michael Pittman Jr. gave fantasy football managers a scare on Friday when he was listed on the Indianapolis Colts‘ injury report as questionable after not participating in practice on Friday. Pittman is reportedly dealing with both back and calf issues, which does not sound good for the Indianapolis WR1.
Let’s examine the latest injury update to see whether Pittman is expected to play in Week 3 and what this means for fantasy managers.
Will Michael Pittman Jr. Play in Week 3 vs. the Chicago Bears?
This injury situation for Pittman has come out of nowhere, as the WR was not even listed on the injury report Wednesday or Thursday. Mid-week downgrades are rarely a good thing, and fantasy managers are right to be concerned heading into the weekend about one of their main wide receivers.
However, the positive news is that head coach Shane Steichen seemed optimistic about Pittman’s availability in Week 3.
Michael Pittman Jr. is dealing with a back and a calf injury, Colts don't believe he's in danger of missing the Bears game. The same goes for Braden Smith, who was dealing with knee soreness.
Ryan Kelly was a vet rest day.
Sounds like Latu might be a game-time decision.
— Joel A. Erickson (@JoelAErickson) September 20, 2024
When asked if Pittman was in any danger of missing the game this week, Steichen replied, “I don’t believe so.” That is about as positive as we could get, and Steichen did not expand further on Pittman’s situation, so we are a little bit uncertain as to what it all means.
Therefore, there will be a concern right up to and even after inactive is announced. Calf and back issues can be nagging injuries and could easily be aggravated on Sunday during the game. This might be a situation where fantasy managers have to look elsewhere for an option in Week 3.
Kyle Soppe’s Week 3 Fantasy Outlook for Pittman
Pittman’s Fantasy Outlook
Of all my preseason takes, Pittman thriving in this offense is the one I am most worried about. With just 52 yards to show for himself, it’s become very clear that we are looking at a mismatch of skill sets.
Pittman wants to win quickly and earn lots of volume in the short pass game without much touchdown equity to show for his time in the NFL.
Richardson wants to extend plays and shorten drives via the chunk play.
See what I mean? I like peanut butter, and I like chicken, but together they are no good. It’s beginning to feel like that could be the situation for Pittman – he’s fine by himself, but in this specific situation, his one-time high-floor skill set isn’t of much value to us.
I’m stubborn and not yet tossing in the towel from a season-long perspective. I hope that Richardson’s game develops with time, but I have no choice but to tank Pittman in my rankings until we see signs of that.
Instead of pushing for a WR1 ranking as I had hoped less than a month ago, Pittman (with a return of Josh Downs only further complicating this projection) is hanging on for dear life to WR2 status, ranking behind Xavier Worthy’s upside and in the same range as receivers like Jaylen Waddle and Amari Cooper who also need their talent to overcome their situations.
Who Are the Top Fantasy Options on the Colts if Pittman Does Not Play?
As Soppe discussed above, Richardson’s inconsistencies make it hard to trust any pass catcher on the Colts’ depth chart from a fantasy perspective. Downs is expected to return in Week 3 and should take a starting lineup spot regardless of whether Pittman is playing or not. He would likely join Alec Pierce in two-WR sets, who had been playing heavily in the first two weeks.
The third WR role has largely been split between Adonai Mitchell (58 snaps and 43 routes) and Ashton Dulin (33 snaps and 19 routes). Neither of them has been heavily utilized, with Mitchell seeing nine targets and Dulin three. Mitchell has caught just two of those targets for 32 yards, while Dulin has two receptions for 67 yards and a touchdown.
If Pittman is out, then Pierce and Downs should see the majority of the snaps and targets. Pierce is the safer play simply because he has been active for the last few weeks. Downs is a wild-card option and could have value as a starting WR. Both are boom-bust options with Richardson at quarterback and are, at best, a Flex option in 12- or 14-team leagues.