Michael Pittman Jr. is very excited to be a Steeler. However, he does desire a more expansive route tree under new Steelers coach Mike McCarthy compared to his time in Indianapolis.
“We all had very specific roles,” Pittman said Friday via the Steelers’ YouTube channel. “We all kind of played tight to our roles. And mine was mine because that’s what was decided, and being a member of a team, I had to embrace that, and I felt like I did the best with that. And then yeah, just getting back to diversifying, just showing everything that I can do. I feel like I really showed that my first three years, and then it just kind of got narrowed down.”
Until 2023, Michael Pittman’s career was really taking off. That season, he finished with a career high in receiving yards (1,152), and he scored four times. However, he wasn’t able to replicate that success his last two seasons in Indianapolis.
A lot of that has to do with some of the emerging players in that Colts’ pass catching group, causing Pittman’s targets to drop. After getting 156 targets in 2023, Pittman saw 111 in both 2024 and 2025. Thus, his game was a bit limited. In 2025, Michael Pittman Jr. managed just 1.44 yards per route run. With Pierce being much more of a downfield threat, Pittman saw a lot of work near the line of scrimmage.
That’s not a bad role for him, and if Aaron Rodgers comes back, he’ll probably get plenty of work in the short game as well. But it’s reasonable for him to hope for a bigger role in Pittsburgh. One that he might get in Mike McCarthy’s offense, which will look different than what we’ve seen from Pittsburgh in the past.
That said, Pittman knows he’s got to do the blue-collar things as well. And he has no problem with that.
“Being that guy who catches passes, but also blocks, like, his tail off,” Pittman said. “Showing my teammates that I’m not here to just catch the ball, and that I’m willing to do all of that dirty work too. Just trying to show the quarterback that he throws it, I’ll catch it no matter what.”
Pittman is a physical receiver, and he’s genuine about his efforts to catch every single ball, even ill-advised throws that lead him into big hits. That mentality is going to come across very well to whoever ends up playing quarterback in 2026, and it’s a good lesson to teach to any younger receivers the Steelers bring in as well.
In DK Metcalf and Pittman, the Steelers have a very tough, physical receiving duo. That’s what the Steelers have desired out of their receivers for years. And it’s something Michael Pittman brings to Pittsburgh. If Pittman can show what he talked about during his introductory press conference on the field, Steelers fans will quickly come to love him.
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