Since the Cowboys used the franchise tag on George Pickens, Colts WR Alec Pierce became the top wide receiver on the free agent market. He was a tag candidate for the Colts as well, though they chose to go in a different direction, setting the table for Pierce to test the open market.

A former second-round pick out of Cincinnati, Pierce is coming off his best season yet as a pro, with 47 receptions for 1,003 yards and six touchdowns. He led the NFL in yards per reception in both 2024 and 2025 (22.3 and 21.3, respectively), developing into the league’s premier deep threat. At 6-3 and with legitimate 4.4 speed, he’s a tough cover, able to take the top off a defense and body out coverage defenders at the catch point. This past season, he took a big developmental leap, becoming a more well-rounded receiver who can be one of the focal points of a passing attack.

From a contract standpoint, Pierce is expected to command a strong market. Michael Pittman Jr. is currently Indianapolis’ highest-paid receiver at $23.3 million per year — Pierce is expected to exceed that. The franchise tag for wide receivers is valued at $27.298 million. Whether he manages to match or surpass that is more of an open question. Above that number, you start to get to the contracts of receivers like Jaylen Waddle, Tee Higgins, and Terry McLaurin, which feels a bit rich for Pierce even coming off his breakout season.

Instead, I expect him to land somewhere in the $24-27 million range. That’s where receivers like Nico Collins, DeVonta Smith and Jameson Williams sit, and that seems a more realistic estimate. It’s debatable if Pierce is as good an NFL player as any of those names, but with the natural contract inflation over time, that valuation makes sense.

Pierce is probably in line for a three-year contract that comes in right under the franchise tag number. It’s a steep price to pay, but receivers don’t come cheap anymore, and if Pierce hits the market, his demand is expected to be very high.

Pierce, 25, is a former second-round pick by the Colts in the 2022 NFL Draft out of Cincinnati.

He’s in the final year of a four-year $6,601,342 rookie contract that included a $1,980,976 signing bonus.

In 2025, Pierce appeared in 15 games for the Colts and recorded 47 receptions on 84 targets for 1,004 yards (21.3 YPC) and six touchdowns.

We have him included in our Top 100 2026 NFL Free Agents list.

Indianapolis Colts

The favorite to land Pierce would be the Colts. Reports on Tuesday indicated that Indy was getting closer to reaching a deal with their top wide receiver and felt optimistic about it, giving them the flexibility to use the transition tag on QB Daniel Jones rather than feeling forced to use the franchise tag on Pierce.

The Colts still have five days to close a deal with Pierce before the legal tampering period begins on Monday. If Pierce hits the open market, he could quickly get priced out of Indy’s range. But the Colts will work hard to make sure he doesn’t — wide receiver suddenly becomes a big need for this team if Pierce walks and they’re unlikely to find a suitable replacement elsewhere in free agency or in the draft.

Re-signing in Indianapolis makes sense from Pierce’s perspective, as well. It’s an environment he’s familiar with and one well-suited to helping him thrive. When Jones was healthy last season, the Colts had the top offense in the league and Pierce opened up everything for them down the field.

With the transition tag for Jones on the books, the Colts are currently about $4.7 million over the cap. Restructures for guys like DT DeForest Buckner, LG Quenton Nelson, LT Bernhard Raimann and CB Charvarius Ward would clear plenty of space quickly, but signing Jones to an actual extension is the easiest path forward on the cap. How Indianapolis balances those two contract negotiations over the next week will be important to monitor.

New York Jets

The Jets are another easy connection to make for Pierce. Garrett Wilson is one of the best wide receivers in the league, but behind him the depth gets thin quickly. At the trade deadline, New York acquired a pair of young receivers in John Metchie III from the Texans and Adonai Mitchell from, ironically, the Colts. Both had their moments, but the Jets could certainly use Pierce’s services.

Pierce would be an excellent complement to Wilson just from a stylistic standpoint. Wilson is a crafty route runner and elite possession receiver who attacks the short and intermediate parts of the field with great effectiveness. Pairing him with a physical deep threat and contested catch expert makes a lot of sense. With the fourth-most cap space in the league at $74.3 million, New York can easily absorb the cost of signing Pierce.

On top of that, new Jets OC Frank Reich was the head coach in Indianapolis when the Colts drafted Pierce back in 2022. That connection certainly doesn’t hurt.

Las Vegas Raiders

The Raiders have the No. 1 overall pick in this draft and are full steam ahead to draft Indiana QB Fernando Mendoza with that selection, setting him up to be the future of the franchise. But the rest of the roster is pretty barren, and Las Vegas will need to do more to support their young passer. 

The Raiders need way more help at receiver. Jack Bech and Tre Tucker are the top names on their depth chart after trading away Jakobi Meyers at the deadline last year. Pierce would immediately slot in as the top wideout on this team as the fully realized version of the bigger-bodied deep threats they’ve tried to draft in recent years. They have the cap space, too, with over $88 million available to them, second-most in the league and easily enough to sign Pierce.

Combined with TE Brock Bowers and RB Ashton Jeanty, Pierce would help provide Mendoza with a quality trio of weapons to grow with as a rookie. Signing him would also take the pressure off their later picks to be immediately impactful.

Other teams to watch: Baltimore Ravens, Chicago Bears, Denver Broncos