This offseason, it was public knowledge that the San Francisco 49ers wanted to add pass-catching talent in free agency. General manager John Lynch said as much ahead of 2026, and the team delivered on that promise by adding veteran Mike Evans.
That was not the only free-agent receiver the team was connected to, though. They reportedly had interest in Alec Pierce, which made a lot of sense on paper given the fact that he is a young deep threat who could potentially space out the field in Kyle Shanahan's offense.
Pierce wound up re-signing with the Indianapolis Colts on an exorbitant four-year, $114 million deal, which seemed like an overpay, even at the time. Now, the Niners look even wiser for staying away from Pierce, since he has yet to practice for Indianapolis in training camp as he recovers from offseason ankle surgery.
There is no timetable for his return as of yet, although Colts head coach Shane Steichen and GM Chris Ballard have given positive updates on his status. It does not seem like he's going to miss the start of the season, but the Colts must feel at least slightly uneasy that they forked over so much money to a guy who is already dealing with lingering ailments.
49ers must be thrilled with the route they elected to take instead of Pierce
That's not to say that the Niners' big wide receiver acquisition hasn't had some health issues of his own. Evans has already missed multiple practices due to a quad issue. At age 33, the soft-tissue injury raises some concern, but reports haven't labeled it as anything serious. Despite his health issues, though, the 49ers have at least seen him in action thus far, whereas the Colts have yet to see their investment hit the field.
San Francisco also avoided yet another long-term catastrophe by avoiding Pierce. After failing to see an adequate return on investment from both Deebo Samuel (the first go-around) and Brandon Aiyuk, there was likely a healthy bit of hesitation in jumping into yet another multi-year commitment with a wideout.
Evans, on the other hand, feels like a safer play. The veteran has an established, no-drama reputation in the league, and it's clear winning is his priority. While his contract is still three years in length, the 49ers could view the deal as a success so long as they get at least two productive years out of the future Hall-of-Famer.
Fans will have to see how Pierce's contract ages, but his ongoing injury seems to be even more evidence that the 49ers were wise to look elsewhere.
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