Colts wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr. clarified comments he made after Sunday’s loss to the Browns
Colts wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr. He made his comments clear after Sunday’s loss to the Browns, saying he felt better because “I’ve never had a good loss before.”
Pittman, the Colts’ leading receiver, complained to the Indianapolis Star about his involvement in the offense, in part: “They didn’t target me today for some reason.” Maybe I’m not a big boy.
It’s part of the crime.”
Pittman gathered reporters in the Colts locker room Wednesday to try to clarify those claims.
“It was a very disappointing loss,” Pittman said of the Browns’ 39-38 win.
“I’ve never been a good loser.
I’m a very bad sport.
It’s something I’ve done all my life and sometimes it’s hard for me. And when you lose, sometimes you lose your cool and you lose your mind.
“I think I was being a little dramatic when I said that.”
Known as a fiery competitor who frequently matches opponents down the field, Pittman leads the Colts in targets, receptions and receiving yards.
In Sunday’s game, he had five targets and two touchdowns, including a 75-yard touchdown over two defenders.
All of this made the nature of his observations shocking, and Pittman acknowledged this fact.
“Obviously I play a big role in this offense,” said Pittman, who is averaging 9.3 goals per game this season.
“I lead the team in terms of goals and things like that.
So it comes from frustration. I love playing here, I love Indy and everything we do here and I’m looking forward to the week ahead.
Pittman is entering the final year of his four-year rookie deal and offers the Colts an interesting postseason solution. The organization hasn’t invested heavily in a wide receiver in years, and Pittman represents the first decision of Chris Ballard’s seven-year tenure.
Pittman went through several quarterback changes and played with seven different starting quarterbacks in four seasons.
This season, he left Anthony Richardson with a season-ending shoulder injury, leaving Gardner Minshew to take his place.
“I feel like I’m part of a team that’s very consistent and constantly changing,” Pittman said.
“And of course there’s a lot of continuity between receivers and quarterbacks, but we didn’t have that.
[Richardson] goes down, so we’ll see what happens from there.
“But right now, Gardner is steering the ship and I think he’s doing a good job.
“I think we’re doing great because we’re top 10 offensively in almost every category.”
