A foot that just would not cooperate
He spent three days hanging around practice without ever really joining in. Michael Pittman was limited on Wednesday, then did nothing at all on Thursday and Friday. The foot simply was not up to it.
The Steelers made the call on Saturday. The receiver has gone from doubtful to out for Sunday’s trip to the New England Patriots in Foxborough.
A shame. He had just come off a decent outing, with three catches for 58 yards in Pittsburgh’s 20-13 win over the Falcons.
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What Pittsburgh is losing here
Pittman is not a bit-part player. At 28, he arrives with 485 catches, 5,254 yards and 25 touchdowns in 95 pro games, including 86 starts. He topped 1,000 yards twice in Indianapolis, doing it while the Colts kept shuffling quarterbacks like a bad shell game.
His final year in Indiana was his most complete, and his most efficient in the red zone: 80 receptions, 784 yards and seven touchdowns in 17 games, a personal best for scores. The Steelers brought him in for that kind of consistency, not for highlight-reel noise.
He was taken 34th overall in the 2020 draft. Six seasons on, he is watching a road game from the sideline.
An offense that did not need any more bad news
Aaron Rodgers did not exactly put minds at ease in Week 1. The quarterback threw 40 passes for 221 yards, which works out to 5.52 yards per attempt. Not exactly vintage stuff.
Pittsburgh’s success rate in Week 1 sat at 31.3%. Only the Miami Dolphins were worse at 30.0%. The Steelers still won, thanks to their defense and an opponent missing its starting quarterback.
Taking Pittman out of the picture before heading to Foxborough is no small blow. Rodgers will have to find production somewhere else.
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