Colts WR Michael Pittman Jr. said Monday that he played all season with a small fracture in his back. James Boyd of The Athletic reports that Pittman first felt the issue during training camp and had the fracture revealed by testing in Week 3. It was Week 6 when we got the odd progression from Pittman expecting to lose multiple weeks to a back injury to playing in that week's game. He wound up missing only Week 10 vs. Buffalo.
Pittman posted his fewest receptions and yards per game since his rookie year this season, along with a career-low catch rate. But those likely came more from QB Anthony Richardson's play than effects of Pittman's back injury.
Pittman remains under contract through 2026, while Richardson just finished the second season of his four-year rookie deal (with a fifth-year option).
It's worth noting that Pittman also increased his yards per catch over the previous two seasons: 11.7, up from 9.3 and 10.6. But Richardson figures to at least damage the weekly consistency of Pittman's receiving numbers.
Indy's move to bench Richardson midway through his second season shows the team is willing to move away from the young QB if/when he struggles. We'll see what else the team does at QB this offseason.
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