General manager Chris Ballard said Tuesday that while Pierce is without a timeline to return from the PUP list, the wideout has avoided any setbacks following late-March surgery on his left ankle and is making positive strides in his recovery, Stephen Holder of ESPN.com reports. "It's been like any rehab," Ballard said of Pierce. "There's ups and downs. There's a new normal that they have to get used to. But there's no setback. He's in good shape. He's making great progress. Every player comes back differently, and we feel good about where he's at."
According to James Boyd of The Athletic, Ballard noted that he still anticipates Pierce will be ready to play Week 1 against the Ravens, though the wideout still has some hurdles to clear in the recovery process. Ballard also debunked reports from Monday indicating that Pierce recently required a second platelet-rich plasma injection for his ankle, with the GM relaying that Pierce's only PRP treatment came back in January before he had surgery two months later. Though he's not practicing with the Colts while on the PUP list, Pierce was in attendance for Tuesday's session and was seen taking part in individual work off to the side, per Boyd. After trading away Michael Pittman and rewarding Pierce with a four-year, $114 million contract earlier this offseason, the Colts are counting on the 26-year-old Pierce to take on a heightened role in the aerial attack in 2026 after he had mostly operated as a low-volume vertical threat over his first four seasons in the league.