Steelers place WR Michael Pittman Jr. on IR with foot injury
The Steelers placed wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr. on injured reserve with a foot injury, a move that will keep him out for multiple weeks right as Pittsburgh faces his old team, the Colts.
Why Pittman is in the headlines
The Pittsburgh Steelers placed wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr. on injured reserve Saturday because of a foot injury, the team announced.
Head coach Mike McCarthy said Thursday that Pittman aggravated the foot in practice on Wednesday and was expected to miss multiple weeks. He had been playing through plantar fasciitis in his left foot, the same problem that held him out of the Week 2 game against the New England Patriots. After Wednesday's practice, he was seen in the locker room on a scooter to keep weight off the foot.
How he ended up in Pittsburgh
Pittman came to the Steelers in a March trade with the Indianapolis Colts, a deal built around a late-round pick swap. Pittsburgh followed it up by signing him to a three-year, $59 million extension. He spent six seasons with the Colts after they took him in the second round of the 2020 draft, and he put together two 1,000-yard seasons there.
The production hasn't shown up yet in Pittsburgh. Through the start of this season, Pittman has seven catches on 12 targets for 89 yards. He also missed a large chunk of training camp with a separate injury that the team never disclosed.
What's not known, and what's next
The Steelers haven't given a firm return date beyond McCarthy's multiple-weeks estimate, and they haven't said whether the camp injury he dealt with earlier is connected to the foot issue now putting him on IR.
The timing lines up with the schedule. This injury news comes right as Pittsburgh prepares to play the Colts, the team that traded him away, on Sunday. Pittman won't play in that game, and he's off the active roster for as long as the injured reserve stint lasts.
Facts per ESPN. Opinion is the taproom's.