Michael Pittman Jr. discusses sharing an offense with DK Metcalf, role with Steelers

Instead of waiting until the upcoming draft to address the position, the Pittsburgh Steelers acquired wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr. from the Indianapolis Colts earlier in March and then signed him to a three-year, $59M contract extension.

Last offseason, the Steelers made a big splash when they traded with the Seattle Seahawks for wide receiver DK Metcalf and then signed him to a five-year, $150M extension. During a Monday appearance on the FanDuel TV "Up & Adams" show, Pittman discussed sharing targets with Metcalf later this year. 

What Michael Pittman Jr. likes about DK Metcalf

"I think it's great because I know that he's a real chippy guy, too," Pittman said about Metcalf, per Nick Shook of the NFL's website. "Just knowing that he plays with that edge, that just gets me fired up because I love to get into stuff. Just with his style of play and his explosiveness and everything, he can pop the top off the defense, and he'll just lift coverage..."

ESPN stats show that Pittman led the 2025 Colts with 80 receptions and seven touchdown catches. He was also third on the team with 784 receiving yards. 

To compare, Metcalf led the 2025 Steelers with 99 targets, 850 receiving yards and six touchdown catches. He was second on the club with 59 total receptions. 

What Michael Pittman Jr. expects while playing for Mike McCarthy

Pittman doesn't yet know if Aaron Rodgers will be Pittsburgh's starting quarterback later this year, but the 28-year-old receiver is sure that he'll be playing in an offense run by recently hired head coach Mike McCarthy.

"(McCarthy) just talked about diversifying it more because obviously in Indy, my role in Indy was more that short, intermediate game. I always felt like every single game I was like, 'I can do more,'" Pittman said about what he will offer Pittsburgh's new-look offense. "I would leave games frustrated because I always felt like I had more to offer the team. Just kind of going over that with (McCarthy) and telling him everything I can do, and him kind of seeing that and expanding my role and my route tree back to what it was maybe in Year 2 or 3. I'm really just looking forward to that. I don't want to give up the secret sauce, but having the ability to move around a little bit."

That secret sauce will have quite a different flavor if longtime backup Mason Rudolph or unproven 2025 rookie Will Howard is tasked with serving as the Steelers' starting quarterback this fall. That said, it continues to seem likely that Rodgers will eventually return to Pittsburgh's active roster at some point this spring.