Colts receiver Michael Pittman Jr. played through the 2024 season with a fractured back, he told reporters on Monday.
He may need surgery to correct the issue.
“When I first had it happen, they said that it’s almost certainly going to get worse, not better,” Pittman said, via Joel A. Erickson of the Indianapolis Star. “It’s all about as long as I could make it happen, and I did finish. … I was hoping we would be playing longer than this.”
While Pittman first noticed something was off during training camp in August, the fracture was discovered following the Colts’ Week 3 victory over the Bears. But Pittman still elected to play through the pain.
“We were doing it every four weeks, but then I just got to a point I’m like, ‘I don’t really care what the scan says, I’m going to play either way,’” Pittman said.
Pittman, who signed a three-year contract extension with the Colts last March, caught 69 passes for 808 yards with three touchdowns. While his numbers were down in 2024, he doesn’t seem to regret his decision to play.
“That’s just what you have to do for the guys,” Pittman said. “This isn’t a fair-weather sport. Guys like Quenton [Nelson], Jonathan Taylor, [DeForest Buckner], they deserve my best even when I don’t feel up to it.”
Read the full article here
