Michael Pittman Jr.
The Pittsburgh Steelers were without WR2 Michael Pittman Jr. in their 20-3 loss to the New England Patriots. After missing a chunk of training camp with an injury, Pittman popped up on the injury report last week with a foot injury and was unable to practice on Thursday and Friday after being limited on Wednesday. During his weekly press conference on Monday, head coach Mike McCarthy said he wasn’t sure if Pittman would be able to return for the team’s Week 3 game against the Cincinnati Bengals.
“Different injury, but I know he made progress, just talking to [head trainer] Gabe [Amponsah],” McCarthy said via the team’s YouTube channel. “So he’s in the evaluation group for Wednesday morning and hopefully we’ll have a good plan for him. But I don’t have a feel one way or the other if he’s gonna be available this week.”
Pittman was asked about his injury earlier today and also gave a wishy-washy answer when it came to his status for this week. He said it wasn’t the same injury he suffered during training camp. McCarthy’s answer is in line with what Pittman said this morning, and his practice participation will be worth watching this week.
Without Pittman, the Steelers offense struggled mightily in Week 2, though his absence did lead to more opportunities for rookie Germie Bernard. The rookie second-round pick led the team with four catches for 35 yards, but he bobbled a screen pass that the Patriots intercepted on his final target of the game.
Despite that, Aaron Rodgers praised Bernard after the game, and he’ll likely see a similar role in Week 3 if Pittman is unable to go.
Pittman provided some juice to Pittsburgh’s downfield passing game in Week 1. While he only caught three passes, one was for a gain of 20 yards and the other was a 21-yard gain, and the Steelers’ offense struggled with explosive plays in Week 2. Pittman isn’t necessarily known for generating explosive plays, but he’s clearly the team’s second-best option behind a struggling DK Metcalf. Having him healthy would be a boost for the offense.
It sounds very much up in the air whether he’ll be ready to go against the visiting Bengals though, and the Steelers could once again be shorthanded at the receiver position in a key early-season AFC North battle. After having good luck with health the first week of the season, Pittman was a big loss for the Steelers last week and the team will hope the injury isn’t long-term. It’s a positive for the Steelers that he seems to be making progress and could be in a position to play in Week 3, but it’s far from a guarantee.