Michael Pittman Jr., like the rest of the Indianapolis Colts’ offense, is going through a rough patch in 2024.
The big-bodied possession receiver has seen his numbers drop for the league’s 19th-ranked offense. His receptions per game are down from a career-best 6.8 in 2023 to just 3.6 this fall. His 41.5 percent success rate on targets is a career low by nearly 10 full points.
The culprit is an unstable passing game. Second year quarterback Anthony Richardson dialed up the kind of big downfield throws you’d want from a franchise quarterback, but completed just 44 percent of them to start the season. That led to a change before Week 9, making 38-year-old veteran Joe Flacco the team’s starter.
Pittman wasn’t given the chance to offer the Indianapolis coaching staff his thoughts about a potential switch before it happened. In fact, he didn’t even know Flacco was being elevated until he read about it on social media.
#Colts WR Michael Pittman Jr. said he found out about the QB change through social media.
— James Boyd (@RomeovilleKid) October 30, 2024
That’s a rough look for a team whose inconsistency has doomed it to a 4-4 record this fall. The Colts are very much in the playoff race, which is what justified the switch from the high ceiling, low floor passing of Richardson to the more stable Flacco. It still feels like something that should have been communicated to the team’s wideouts before it hit Twitter, however.