The Pittsburgh Steelers did well to pick up a 20-13 victory over the Atlanta Falcons in Week 1, but they are going to have to play better moving forward if they want to continue adding to their win column. Case in point, the team is now set for a tough Week 2 matchup against a New England Patriots team that is fresh off a Super Bowl run last year.
The weather for this game does not look good, as all signs are pointing to this being a rain-soaked contest. Pittsburgh is also dealing with several injury issues ahead of this game, with star wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr.‘s status suddenly coming into question. On Friday afternoon, the Steelers announced Pittman’s final injury designation for this game.
Steelers List Michael Pittman Jr. as Questionable for Week 2 Action
Much of the Steelers’ offseason work focused on convincing Aaron Rodgers to push off retirement one more year and return to be the team’s starting quarterback, but the front office also knew that it was going to need to revamp the offense, no matter who ended up under center. Perhaps the biggest move the team made in this department involved swinging a trade with the Indianapolis Colts for Pittman.
Known for his reliable hands and ability to get open at the short-to-intermediate levels of the field, Pittman is a perfect complement to big-play threat DK Metcalf at the wide receiver position. While the Steelers’ passing attack wasn’t great against the Falcons, Pittman had a solid day, as he hauled in three receptions for a team-leading 58 yards.
Along the way, Pittman suffered a foot injury, and while it initially didn’t seem like a major cause for concern, it forced him to miss practice on both Thursday and Friday. Pittman seems to be trending in the wrong direction, which is a worrying development given that kickoff is less than 48 hours away, but Pittsburgh isn’t ruling him out just yet, as it instead listed him as questionable on its final injury report.
Joey Porter Jr. is OUT vs. Patriots. Michael Pittman Jr, who didn’t practice Thursday or Friday, is questionable, while Troy Fautanu was a full participant and also questionable,” Brooke Pryor of ESPN shared in a post on X.
Steelers Preparing for Potential Michael Pittman Jr. Absence
Pittman practiced in a limited capacity on Wednesday, but seeing him not be able to practice at all on Thursday or Friday is somewhat alarming. At this point in his career, Pittman can be trusted to turn in a strong outing without practicing much throughout the week, so maybe the Steelers are simply playing it safe with him, but there still appears to be a good shot that he doesn’t play on Sunday.
If Pittman can’t play, that will mean more work for Metcalf in the passing attack, with Roman Wilson and Germie Bernard also likely to earn more snaps. At this point, Pittman’s status appears to be up in the air, and while a more concrete update will likely arrive on Sunday morning, we won’t know for sure whether or not he’s playing until the team’s final inactives list is revealed 90 minutes before kickoff.
Steelers Announce Final Week 2 Injury Update for Star Wide Receiver