Should Colts Shop Michael Pittman Jr. Before NFL Trade Deadline?
The Indianapolis Colts finally have running back Jonathan Taylor signed beyond the 2023 season. But a question mark remains around the contract situation for wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr.
Questions surround Indianapolis' chances of competing for an AFC playoff spot this season as well. Incredibly, the Colts are one of 12 teams who are 3-3 or better in the conference.
That's a crowded field and a daunting one to deal with without starting quarterback Anthony Richardson, who the Colts officially ruled out for the remainder of the 2023 season.
So, with all of that in mind, USA Today's For the Win's Cory Woodroof argued that the Colts should seriously gauge the trade market for Pittman.
"With quarterback Anthony Richardson on injured reserve, the Colts need to think long and hard about selling at the trade deadline to get some draft capital to add meaningful talent to this offense," wrote Woodroof.
"Pittman is a very reliable wide receiver, but he’ll be a free agent in the spring. It would make sense for Indianapolis to consider moving him to a contender that needs wideout help for a third-round draft pick.
"That’d be the highest compensation the team would get if Pittman walked and signed a major deal elsewhere, but they wouldn’t see that pick until 2025. It’s also possible they’d cancel that out by signing a big free agent of their own."
Woodroof concluded his argument by calling the Colts potentially trading Pittman, "smart" as it would give the team a "nice pick for next year's draft."
There's a couple different ways to look at Pittman's situation. The Colts found Pittman early in the second round of the 2020 draft. He's developed into a wideout who will compete for 100 catches and/or 1,000 yards on an annually basis.
To trade that away -- when he's only 26 years old -- for a draft pick after the second round doesn't seem smart.
However, as the saying goes, beggars can't be choosers.
If the Colts don't plan to extend Pittman, keeping him to make a run with Gardner Minshew behind center doesn't make much sense.
Not that Alec Pierce and Josh Downs have made Pittman expendable, but the Colts do have other young receivers they are developing. They could have another with the draft pick they receive in return for Pittman.
Whether or not to trade Pittman is not at all an easy decision. But the Colts can't really afford to let the 26-year-old walk for nothing in free agency.
That fact seems to place a potential Pittman trade at least on the table.
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