Steelers share brutal Michael Pittman Jr. injury update ahead of Colts game

The Pittsburgh Steelers (2-2) will look to bounce back from the 27-24 prime-time loss to the Cleveland Browns they suffered on Oct. 1 when they host the 2-2 Indianapolis Colts on Sunday.

It's now known that Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers will be without a key target for beyond just the matchup against the Colts. 

Steelers' offense gets bad news

Per Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk, Steelers head coach Mike McCarthy confirmed on Thursday that wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr. will miss time due to a foot injury. As Joe Clark of Steelers Depot noted, a foot injury kept Pittman out for Pittsburgh's 20-3 Week 2 loss to the New England Patriots on Sept. 20. 

"It’s the same foot, so it’s going to be a multiple-week injury," McCarthy said about Pittman's setback. "We’re still going through the evaluation of his roster position."

According to Nick Farabaugh of PennLive, Pittman could potentially land on injured reserve and, thus, miss at least four games. Ian Rapoport of ESPN/NFL Network shared that Pittman "had been dealing with plantar fasciitis" this fall. 

The Steelers' bye is Week 9. On Oct. 18, Pittsburgh will play at a Tampa Bay Buccaneers side that lost its first four games of the season. 

The Steelers acquired Pittman from the Colts in March and then signed him to a three-year, $59M contract extension. Thus far, those transactions have been a swing-and-miss for Steelers general manager Omar Khan, as Pittman recorded just seven catches for 89 yards over the first three games of his Pittsburgh tenure. 

The Steelers' offense could use a confidence-building outing

Per ESPN stats, the Steelers rank 23rd in the league with an average of 19.3 points per game. Meanwhile, Pro-Football-Reference shows that Rodgers ended Week 4 ranked 22nd in the NFL among qualified players with a 44.5 adjusted QBR and 19th with an 81.6 passer rating on the campaign. It now sounds like Rodgers won't have Pittman as a target anytime soon. 

Shortly after McCarthy spoke, DraftKings Sportsbook listed the Steelers as 2.5-point home favorites over the Colts.