Indianapolis Colts Fantasy Football News | Shark Bites

Colts WR Alec Pierce (concussion) returned to a limited practice on Thursday. It gives him a shot to be cleared in time for Sunday's game vs. the Jaguars. Pierce's status has taken on increased importance with WR Michael Pittman dealing with a quad injury.

Colts WR Michael Pittman (quad) did not practice on Thursday. That's a downgrade from his limited workout on Wednesday. Pittman's status for this weekend's game vs. the Jaguars is now in question. Check back tomorrow for another update.

Colts WR Alec Pierce developed concussion symptoms in the wake of Sunday's game against the Texans and has entered the league protocol, HC Frank Reich told reporters Wednesday. We'll see whether Pierce can get through ahead of Sunday's game. Pierce ranked 3rd on the team in route rate and drew only 2 targets in the opener, so he shouldn't be near fantasy lineups even if he's back.

Colts WR Michael Pittman drew 13 targets in Sunday's tie with Houston, 6 more than his nearest teammate. Matt Ryan's 50 pass attempts helped enhance that number, but the 26% target share marked a nice start for Indy's clear lead wideout. He proved efficient, too, racking up a 9-121-1 receiving line. RB Jonathan Taylor and TE Kyle Granson tied for 2nd on the team with 7 targets apiece. RB Nyheim Hines and WR Ashton Dulin followed at 6 apiece. No one else drew more than 4. That made Week 1 disappointing for WRs Parris Campbell and Alec Pierce, who drew targets on just 7.7% and 6.3% of routes, respectively, according to Pro Football Focus. (For context: Pittman finished at 27.1%, Dulin at 46.2%.) Campbell and/or Pierce will need things to change before making sense for fantasy football lineups.

If HC Frank Reich was considering shaving any portion off RB Jonathan Taylor's role this season, then he totally forgot about it in Week 1. Taylor claimed 31 of Indianapolis' 34 RB rushes in the tie with Houston, as well as 7 targets. That tied for 2nd on the team and edged Nyheim Hines by 1. Taylor racked up 161 yards and a TD on the ground, adding 4 catches for 14 yards. Hines proved efficient as a receiver, catching all 6 of his targets for 50 yards to rank 2nd on the team in both categories. But he gained just 4 yards on 3 rushes and still played too small a role to be trustworthy in starting lineups for most fantasy football formats. Both players likely saw their Week 1 target counts inflated by QB Matt Ryan's 50 pass attempts.

The Jets will start QB Joe Flacco in Sunday's opener against the Ravens, NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reports. QB Zach Wilson is reportedly "progressing well but not quite ready" in his return from the right-knee injury he suffered in the preseason opener. It's not a surprising announcement. We already had Flacco projected in our Week 1 fantasy football rankings. HC Robert Saleh says that Wilson isn't likely to be available before Week 4 at the earliest, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter.

The Eagles on Thursday claimed RB Trey Sermon off waivers. ESPN's Adam Schefter reports that the team had previously discussed a trade with the 49ers. Sermon took less than 2 full years to bust his way off the roster of the team that drafted him in Round 3. So it's tough to bet on a big impact from him. But he's immediately the heaviest RB in the Philly backfield. We'll see whether than can make Sermon a quick factor in short-yardage situations.

The Athletic's James Boyd expects Alec Pierce to emerge as the Colts' 2nd most targeted WR. Boyd believes Pierce's combination of size and speed will make him a more valuable weapon for QB Matt Ryan than WR Parris Campbell, especially in the red zone. We ultimately like targeting both these guys near the end of fantasy drafts.

ESPN's Field Yates reports that the 49ers have waived RB Trey Sermon. That leaves 4 RBs on the roster: Elijah Mitchell, Tyrion Davis Price, Jeff Wilson Jr. and Jordan Mason. We'll see exactly how things sort out behind (or alongside?) Mitchell. Kyle Shanahan backfields have been productive enough that all 4 players are worth a look in fantasy football leagues of varying sizes.

Colts DE Kwity Paye hurt his left knee in Wednesday's practice. Despite initial fears, however, the 2nd-year player suffered only a bone bruise "and should be fine," according to ESPN's Stephen Holder. We'll see whether the issue threatens Paye's Week 1 status.

There's been some positive buzz on 49ers RB Trey Sermon this month, but insider Matt Maiocco believes he's on the roster bubble. "If Sermon were not a third-round pick a year ago, there probably would not be much of a conversation about his status," Maiocco writes. He has RBs Elijah Mitchell, Ty Davis-Price and Jeff Wilson as locks to make the team, with Sermon, JaMycal Hasty and Jordan Mason fighting for the final spot. There's no clear-cut handcuff to Mitchell, but Davis-Price and Wilson are better last-round fliers than Sermon.

49ers RB Trey Sermon is dealing with an ankle injury, per HC Kyle Shanahan. The issue popped up in practice on Thursday. It must be minor, though, as Sermon rushed 5 times (for 8 yards) in a preseason game on Saturday.

The 49ers started RB Trey Sermon in the backfield in Saturday's 2nd preseason game against the Vikings, but 2 other RBs also saw touches on the team's 1st drive. San Francisco sat Elijah Mitchell and Jeff Wilson Jr., along with QB Trey Lance and some other starters. Sermon led the RBs who did play, but JaMycal Hasty and Tyrion Davis-Price joined him for 1 carry apiece amid the team's 4-play 1st drive. Sermon was the only RB to garner touches over the next 2 drives and finished the 1st half with 5 carries and 2 targets. vs. 2 total opportunities for each of his teammates. None generated much yardage in that span. Even if Sermon enters the season ahead of Davis-Price and Hasty on the depth chart, he might still sit 3rd behind Mitchell and Wilson in touch distribution. The primary takeaway here should probably be that this remains a crowded backfield.

Colts QB Matt Ryan showed some love for rookie WR Alec Pierce. “More so than anything he does on the field, it’s the combination of the work ethic, the competitiveness, all of the intangible stuff combined with the talent,” Ryan explained. “If you’re going to be a great player in this league, which I think he can be, you’ve got to have it all.” It’s been a smooth summer for Pierce, who’s most recently impressed at join practices with Detroit. “It was good to see Alec make a couple of those plays [in joint practices]– a couple of those back-shoulder plays,” HC Frank Reich said. “I thought Matt put a couple of those right on the money. Alec made the plays. Those are the kind of things we saw from Alec in college.” A Round 2 pick, Pierce looks like a dark horse candidate for 90-100 targets.

Colts HC Frank Reich wants a more balanced offense this season after ranking 28th in pass rate last year. "You don’t see teams that have this ground-and-pound run game win championships,” Reich said. “You just don’t. I’m sure it’s happened with one or two teams, but our best formula is to be balanced." Reich also conceded that it will mean fewer touches for RB Jonathan Taylor. "I’m not saying he won’t lead the league in touches, because you never know how things are going to play out. But I almost don’t want him to," he said of Taylor. “The goal is not to lead the league in rushing. The goal is not to make him the MVP of the league. The goal is to win championships." Taylor easily led the league with 332 carries last year -- 25 more than anyone else. So he can afford to lose some and still be a fantasy stud. More passing, of course, would be good news for QB Matt Ryan, WR Michael Pittman and the rest of the Colts' pass catchers.

Niners HC Kyle Shanahan sounds like he's happy with how RBs Trey Sermon and Jeff Wilson Jr. have performed in training camp so far. "Trey Sermon's come back and he's doing a great job and has improved on so many things from last year," Shanahan told Sirius XM this week. "Jeff Wilson's the healthiest he's been since 2020." Shanahan also highlighted RBs JaMycal Hasty and Jordan Mason just after that, and the whole answer followed a question on the importance of adding Tyrion Davis-Price. The primary takeaway is that Shanahan seems pleased with the depth of this year's backfield, which we expect to be led again by Elijah Mitchell. Don't forget Sermon and Wilson in the final rounds of deep fantasy football drafts, though.

Colts TEs Kylen Granson and Jelani Woods have been "up-and-down so far, and need to stack more consistent days together," The Athletic's Zak Keefer writes. "Granson had too many drops in the spring and hasn’t flashed much in Westfield," Keefer adds. "Woods, a rookie, is probably coming along a little slower than the team would like. He’s looked lost at times." It's not a major surprise that Granson and Woods, 24 and 23 years old, respectively, are off to slow starts. We'll continue to monitor their progress, but Mo Alie-Cox looks like a safe bet to open the season as Indianapolis' lead TE.

Colts HC Frank Reich talked up WR Ashton Dulin's role on offense this season. “I cannot emphasize how strongly we feel about Ashton Dulin," Reich said. "He’s going to play a role in this offense. He’s proven it and he’s earned it. He’s going to have to continue to prove it to earn it, but this guy has toughness, the smarts, he plays all the positions, he knows what to do, he’s a competitor, it’s not too big for him, he’s a playmaker. We love him. We are all planning on him making a significant contribution, not only on special teams, but on offense, too.” Dulin went undrafted back in 2019 and has just 18 catches through 3 NFL seasons. So we're not ready to call him a fantasy-draft target just yet. But he's on our radar for the rest of training camp and preseason action.

The Colts have activated DE Tyquan Lewis and S Rodney McLeod from the physically unable to perform list. Each guy has been working back from a knee issue, and it appears each is now ready for regular training camp participation.

Packers WR Amari Rodgers gave a candid assessment of his rookie season. The Clemson product caught only 4 passes across 16 appearances. “It’s the longest season I ever played,” Rodgers said this week. “I didn't really have a break, it was like two years straight of football. So you know, I feel like it kind of took a toll on me mentally and physically towards the end of the year. “I’ve had an offseason to actually take care of my body, get my body right. So I feel like I'm back to myself.” The 23-year-old (in September) watched Green Bay trade Davante Adams over the offseason, only to bring in 2 rookie WRs and Sammy Watkins. Green Bay could still add another veteran pass catcher, too. Rodgers remains a fringe deep-league sleeper.