WESTFIELD, Ind. – Michael Pittman Jr. is never one to shy away from taking responsibility. The wide receiver holds himself to a very high standard and doesn't make excuses – so much so that even when he plays through a back fracture for an entire season, he doesn't let himself off the hook.
Pittman finished the 2024 season with 69 receptions for 808 yards and three touchdowns – only missing one game – but in a year when one of his biggest goals was to prove himself and bring his game to another level, it fell far short of his own expectations.
"Last year, I mean I don't make any type of excuses, but it just wasn't good enough," Pittman said Tuesday, as Colts players reported to Grand Park for training camp. "So, getting back to the level and even going past what I've done."
Now, all of that is in the past. Pittman's back to full health and eager to get on the field, and is approaching the 2025 season with that same mindset of proving to everybody the kind of receiver he really is – the kind of receiver who joins only three other players in in franchise history (Marvin Harrison, Reggie Wayne and Dallas Clark) to total 100 receptions and 1,000 receiving yards in a single season (doing so in 2023).
Fellow wide receiver Josh Downs is entering training camp with a similar goal – and he's also coming off an injury of his own. Downs injured his ankle during training camp last year and missed the first two games of the season because of it, and he also missed the Colts' Week 13 game against the New England Patriots due to a shoulder injury. Downs finished the season with 72 receptions for 803 yards and five touchdowns, and said on Tuesday that he "wasn't completely 100 percent the whole season."
"I feel like I could have had a little more in the tank," Downs explained. "This season, you'll just have to see. I mean, I'm a little more experienced out there, I feel like I know a little more things and that they'll open up play a little bit more for me this year."
For two guys that both feel like they have a lot still left to prove, 2025 is something of a restart for both wide receivers – with Pittman entering his sixth year in the league and Downs entering his third. They can both put their past seasons, and injuries, behind them and focus solely on staying healthy and performing this season.
And for some other Colts players, 2025 is the opportunity for a full reset. With the addition of new defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo, veterans like cornerback Kenny Moore II, linebacker Zaire Franklin and defensive tackle DeForest Buckner know just how important it is to set the tone early that things will be different this year.
"Just a breath of fresh air," Franklin said. "Everybody's back at a level of zero accountability, which is much needed, from All-Pros to undrafted (players). You got a new person in that allows everybody to get a fresh start and give a fresh opportunity for a first impression."
To Franklin, that new start also means holding everyone accountable to being who they say they are.
"If you a leader, show up and be a leader," he explained. "If you're a playmaker, show up and be a playmaker. And if everybody show up and be what they be, and we come together as a team, we'll be very successful."
Buckner had similar sentiments, emphasizing the importance of everybody buying in and truly believing in the goals of the team and the organization. Doing your job without an ego and being able to take criticism are how players – and therefore, the team – get better, he said. And that's where Anarumo really provides the chance for a restart.
"He's straight to the point, he don't sugarcoat nothing," Buckner said. "It doesn't matter who you are. All-Pro, Pro Bowl or the lowest guy on the totem pole, Lou's gonna tell you if you messed up. He's gonna tell you that's not how he wants it, he's gonna tell you 'This is the way you should do it.' That's what I appreciate about him."
Buckner, who is going into his 10th year in the league, is the most veteran player on the Colts' roster. Not far behind him, though, is Moore, who is going into his ninth season and ready to put more of an emphasis on being a leader. That's not to say that Moore hasn't been something of a de facto leader in the past, as the most experienced cornerback on the team for the past two seasons, but the 29-year-old still views this season as a new opportunity.
"I think I'm still learning how to lead different guys," Moore said. "Everybody's different in how they come along through the journey, and I just want to be there for all the guys, especially the guys on the back end because I rub shoulders with them more than anyone on the team."
"I just gotta be more open with the guys in the room," he added. "A lot of my friends not here anymore, so I gotta meet new friends and get closer to some more guys, just to keep the morale up. So, I'm looking forward to it."
That, in itself, was the biggest theme of player report day: everyone is looking forward to a brand new season with new opportunities. Whether it's the chance to prove you're fully healthy and ready to go, the chance to grow as a leader or the chance to earn a certain role on the field, all of the Colts players that walk onto the field at Grand Park on Wednesday will have many goals in mind.
The biggest one will be this: how can I help my team succeed?
