For several weeks now, Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Michael Pittman has been playing through a back injury.
Originally, it was reported that the injury could land Pittman on injured reserve, however, he and the team chose to push through the pain over the last month-plus.
Typically, over the last few weeks, Pittman hasn’t practiced on Wednesdays, but has returned on Thursday and Friday. However, this week, he did not practice at all.
Michael Pittman injury update
After not practicing at all this week, following Friday’s practice, head coach Shane Steichen ruled Pittman out of Sunday’s game against Buffalo.
“The fact that he was playing up to this point is miraculous,” said Josh Downs of Pittman’s injury.
How long will Michael Pittman be out?
Since the beginning of all of this, Pittman and the Colts have been taking things week-to-week. So what next week holds for Pittman in terms of his availability is unknown at this time–it’s all dependent upon how he’s feeling when we get there. However, Steichen did make it known that injured reserve is still not being considered.
“At this point, everybody’s fighting through some type of thing, so it’s not like I’m doing anything that’s special, but we’re just taking it week to week and then just seeing where it goes,” said Pittman on Wednesday.
Colts WR depth chart
Without Pittman, we will likely see Ashton Dulin and AD Mitchell with an increased workload. Dulin provides more stability at the position as Mitchell navigates the learning curve that comes with being a rookie. But Mitchell possesses far more upside and potential.
It was a rocky start to the season for the rookie, but he has been trending upwards as of late. Oftentimes, Dulin continues to out-snap him, but that needs to change. Reps are going to expedite Mitchell’s learning process, not to mention that this is a passing game that needs more juice–even if that means some inconsistent play at times.
Having said that, success for the Colts against the Buffalo Bills begins with Jonathan Taylor and the run game.