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The Pittsburgh Steelers have a potential issue on their hands with Michael Pittman Jr.
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Upon acquiring Pittman Jr. and a 2026 seventh-round pick via trade from the Indianapolis Colts in March for a 2026 sixth-rounder, the Steelers signed the veteran wide receiver to a three-year, $59 million extension.
Pittsburgh’s wide receiver room had been extremely thin for several years running prior to landing Pittman Jr., and he was viewed as a perfect complementary piece to DK Metcalf in Mike McCarthy’s offense.
Given the way things are trending at the moment, however, it might be time to start worrying about Pittman Jr. and whether or not general manager Omar Khan is beginning to regret his decision to both land and pay him.
Pittman Jr.’s Slow Start
Pittman Jr. had a good debut for the Steelers, leading the team in receiving yards with 58 as they defeated the Atlanta Falcons by a score of 20-13 in Week 1.
He went on to miss Pittsburgh’s Week 2 loss to the New England Patriots with a foot injury, though, before returning for a Week 3 win vs. the Cincinnati Bengals. Pittman Jr. garnered five targets in that contest and hauled in just two of them for a total of 16 yards.
It wasn’t any better on Thursday Night Football in a defeat at the hands of the Cleveland Browns, either. DK Metcalf and Roman Wilson stole the show at receiver, combining for 189 yards and a touchdown on eight receptions.
Pittman Jr., on the other hand, finished with a measly two catches for 15 yards, which ranked sixth on the team.
The 28-year-old is still a physically-minded receiver who has strong hands, though he’s really struggled to separate and offer any real upside in terms what he can do after the catch.
The fact that he’s dealing with plantar fasciitis certainly has capped what he’s capable of providing at the moment, but the outlook is still bleak.
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What Should Pittsburgh Do with Pittman Jr.?
Per Pro Football Focus, Pittman Jr.’s four penalties on the season are the second-most for any wide receiver in the NFL this season only behind Metcalf, who has five.
Furthermore, Pittman Jr.’s average depth of target (9.42, per SumerSports) lags rather significantly behind both Wilson (15.33) and Metcalf (14.97).
The same can be said for Pittman Jr.’s yards per route run (0.9) when compared to Wilson (1.77) and Metcalf (1.26).
While the expectation was never that Pittman Jr. was going to stretch the field or be as explosive as Metcalf or even Wilson, the Steelers still haven’t gotten nearly what they’ve expected out of the seven-year vet up to this point.
Again, his plantar fasciitis injury is hampering him, but how much confidence can Pittsburgh really have in a bounce-back for Pittman Jr.? Wilson is well on his way to surpassing him if he hasn’t already, and second-round pick Germie Bernard is lurking in the shadows as well.
It wouldn’t come as a huge surprise if Pittman Jr.’s usage is curtailed just a bit, and if he doesn’t turn it around, perhaps the Steelers could look to move on from him in the offseason by either cutting or trading him with a post-June 1 designation and saving $18.5 million against the cap to go with $7.56 million in dead money for the 2027 campaign (per Over the Cap).
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/nfl/steelers/onsi as Steelers Can’t Avoid Michael Pittman Jr. Disappointment.
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This story was originally published October 4, 2026 at 4:00 PM.