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Michael Pittman Out Multiple Weeks With Back Injury

By Jared Smola | Updated on Wed, Oct 9 2024 10:21 PM UTC
Michael Pittman Jr. Headshot

Colts WR Michael Pittman is expected to miss "multiple weeks" with a back injury, ESPN's Adam Schefter reports. Pittman didn't practice on Wednesday, so this injury presumably occurred in the Week 5 loss to the Jaguars. We'll look for more details on the injury and Pittman's timetable for return, but Schefter adds that, "injured reserve is an option."

2024 Fantasy Football Impact

We'll see if Pittman ends up on IR, which would knock him out for four games. It sounds like fantasy owners should at least plan on him missing Week 6 vs. the Titans and Week 7 vs. the Dolphins.

Pittman leads the Colts with 37 targets on a 25% share this season. His share has dropped to 23% with WR Josh Downs back over the past three weeks. but we're still taking about a big part of this passing game being eliminated.

Downs is a strong bet to lead the Colts in targets as long as Pittman is out, although he also missed Wednesday's practice with a toe issue. We'll keep an eye on that. Exactly how strong a fantasy play Downs is will depend on whether it's Anthony Richardson or Joe Flacco under center.

WR Alec Pierce should also get a target bump while Pittman is out, and WR Adonai Mitchell should step back into something close to a full-time role. Those guys will have some WR4 appeal if Flacco gets another start.

Jared Smola Author Image
Jared Smola, Lead Analyst
Jared has been with Draft Sharks since 2007. He’s now Lead Analyst, heading up the preseason and weekly projections that fuel your Draft War Room and My Team tools. He currently ranks 1st among 133 analysts in draft rankings accuracy.
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