INDIANAPOLIS -- Colts receiver Michael Pittman Jr. had been dealing with a seasonlong back injury that at one point was expected to be season ending.
But Pittman pressed through, finishing with 69 catches in 16 games. And, on Monday, he revealed the nature of what he was dealing with.
"I actually had a low-back fracture, so it was just a little thing in there, just having to manage that," Pittman said.
That "little" injury was bad enough that Pittman originally believed he'd have to be placed on injured reserve. But the Colts' training staff and medical team informed him there was a path to playing with the injury if he could deal with the discomfort. Pittman underwent imaging scans every few weeks to monitor things, and he ultimately missed just one game despite first feeling the effects of the injury in the preseason.
He said he was scheduled for another MRI on Monday afternoon, and that decisions would soon be made on how to treat the injury moving forward. Surgery is among the options, he said.
Pittman did not meet expectations for this season because of the injury, which obviously limited him at times. He had his fewest catches and receiving yards (808) since his rookie season in 2020.
"My numbers were obviously down, and that's frustrating," he said.
Asked why he persevered through the injury, Pittman said he did it for his teammates.
"That's just what you have to do for the guys, because this isn't a fair-weather sport," he said. "Guys like Quenton [Nelson], Jonathan Taylor, [DeForest Buckner], they deserve my best even when maybe I don't feel up to it and stuff like that. Also it is like a privilege to play in this league, and I don't take any game lightly. I'm out there because it's just such a privilege, and I take every game serious and football is really my life. I would really do anything to play it each and every game."
Elsewhere, safety Julian Blackmon revealed that he had been playing with a torn right labrum since Week 1, saying he felt a responsibility to do so as a veteran leader.
The discomfort was evident on "every tackle I made," Blackmon said, but finishing the season was important to him after his injury absences in recent seasons.