Colts place franchise tag on receiver Michael Pittman Jr.،
INDIANAPOLIS — The Colts placed their franchise tag Tuesday on wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr., who set career highs with 109 receptions for 1,152 yards last season.
Representatives for the Colts and Pittman were in negotiations over a long-term extension in recent days and were striving to reach an agreement before Tuesday's deadline for players to be identified, but that happened without a new CONTRACT.
“We love everything about him and we want him to be a Colt,” coach Shane Steichen said Tuesday morning.
The franchise tag, worth $21.8 million for the wide receivers for the 2024 season, will allow both sides to continue working on a long-term deal. The tag significantly restricts Pittman's ability to sell out as a free agent when the 2024 NFL league year begins next week.
This is the first time the Colts have used the franchise tag since 2013, when they used it on punter Pat McAfee.
Non-exclusive franchise tags allow players to enter into negotiations with other teams, but the player's original team retains the right to match any competing offer or is entitled to two first-round picks if a player joins a new team.
Pittman, who had a different starting quarterback in each of his four seasons in Indianapolis, was one of the most accomplished receivers in Colts history, along with only five others – Marvin Harrison, Reggie Wayne, TY Hilton, Dallas Clark and Bill Brooks. – catch more passes than Pittman’s 336.
He was by far the Colts' top target last season at 28.2%, which ranks 11th in the NFL. His 208 receptions since 2022 also rank fifth in the NFL over that span.
Pittman, who turns 27 in October, missed a Week 16 game after being placed in concussion protocol following a Week 15 hit by Pittsburgh Steelers safety Damontae Kazee, who was sent off and then suspended for the final three games of the season. Pittman was taken out of protocol the following Friday, but he experienced a relapse of symptoms a day later after arriving in Atlanta for a game against the Falcons and returned to protocol.
At 6-foot-4, 223 pounds, Pittman poses a huge target for his quarterback and is a willing, and sometimes devastating, blocker in the running game. He spoke at length about the impending return of 2023 first-round pick Anthony Richardson to the Colts' lineup, and the impact the young quarterback's presence could have on the team's passing game.
