Pierce Is Back. The Receiving Room Is Set. The Secondary Isn't.

Alec Pierce was activated off the PUP list Thursday, and that closes the loop on what had been the Colts' most pressing offensive uncertainty all August. The ankle that required a PRP injection earlier this month is apparently healthy enough to go, and Indianapolis heads into Week 1 with its full receiving corps intact — Pierce, Michael Pittman Jr., Josh Downs, and now Keenan Allen, who called signing here an easy decision when he spoke to Pat McAfee last week.

That last part matters for how you read the Allen signing. When Pierce was still in doubt, Allen looked like a necessity — the veteran insurance policy in case the No. 1 wideout wasn't ready. With Pierce back, Allen slides into something better: genuine depth on a one-year deal, a savvy route-runner who gives Daniel Jones a fourth credible option. The offense, on paper, is the most complete it's been in this offseason cycle.

The defense is a different conversation, and it hasn't changed. The cornerback position goes into Week 1 with one player who logged meaningful snaps last season — Charvarius Ward, who wasn't particularly good when he did play — and nobody behind him who's proven anything at this level. The Colts cut another struggling corner Wednesday, as I noted then, and the depth chart behind Ward remains thin by any reasonable standard. That problem didn't get solved when Pierce got activated. It just got easier to ignore for a day.