{"id":759000,"date":"2026-02-17T20:46:29","date_gmt":"2026-02-17T20:46:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/759000\/"},"modified":"2026-02-17T20:46:29","modified_gmt":"2026-02-17T20:46:29","slug":"great-wide-receiver-target-for-the-steelers-is-revealed-with-free-agency-looming","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/759000\/","title":{"rendered":"Great Wide Receiver Target For The Steelers Is Revealed With Free Agency Looming"},"content":{"rendered":"

New head coach Mike McCarthy and the\u00a0Pittsburgh Steelers<\/a>\u00a0have a few weaknesses that absolutely need to be addressed during the 2026 offseason. Some are such large positions of need that the organization is going to have to look for help in free agency and the 2026 NFL Draft, and one of those spots is wide receiver. That has been an area of weakness in Pittsburgh for several seasons, and the organization is going to have to work hard to shore up the position group. There are a few names to consider<\/a> in free agency, while more names may be added to that list as other teams around the league make major decisions about their rosters.<\/p>\n

\"Steelers<\/p>\n

Matt Freed \/ Pittsburgh Post-Gazette<\/p>\n

Steelers General Manager Omar Khan and Owner Art Rooney II on the field at a team practices while having a discussion.<\/p>\n

Tyreek Hill, Mike Evans, Jauan Jennings, and Rashid Shaheed\u00a0are some names that are already free agents or are scheduled to hit free agency once March comes around, but that list could be growing. This is the time of the offseason where franchises make tough decisions when it comes to cutting certain players due to contractual reasons, and there are some wide receivers in the NFL that could fall under that umbrella. Michael Pittman Jr.\u00a0of the Indianapolis Colts\u00a0is a name to watch as beat writer James Boyd\u00a0mentioned him as a cut candidate in a recent piece for The Athletic<\/a>.<\/p>\n

“Pittman totaled a career-high seven receiving TDs in 2025, but also had just 784 receiving yards, which was his lowest mark since his rookie season in 2020,” Boyd wrote. “The veteran wideout, who turns 29 in October, has a $29 million cap hit in 2026. There is no way Indianapolis will pay him that salary, especially after Alec Pierce supplanted him as the team\u2019s No. 1 receiver. Pittman could either restructure his contract to reduce his salary and remain with the Colts, or they could release him. The latter choice would create $24 million in cap space with just $5 million in dead money.”<\/p>\n

Alec Pierce\u00a0had a breakout year for the Colts in 2025, and he is scheduled to hit free agency in March as his rookie deal is expiring. He will command a large contract, and if the Colts want to keep him, it is unlikely that Pittman would be staying on the roster due to his cap hit for the 2026 season.<\/p>\n

\"Pittsburgh<\/p>\n

Trevor Ruszkowski \/ USA TODAY Sports<\/p>\n

Former Steelers safety Damontae Kazee gets ready lay a hit on Indianapolis Colts receiver Michael Pittman Jr. during a regular season game in 2023.<\/p>\n

Pittman has been one of the league’s most underrated wide receivers throughout his career. He has two 1,000-yard seasons<\/a> under his belt and has caught 25 touchdowns throughout his time with the Colts, but he has not earned any major accolades like Pro Bowls or All-Pro nods. His cap hit is $29 million in 2026 as mentioned, and only $5 million of that is guaranteed. Unless the veteran wide receiver agrees to some sort of restructure or pay cut, the franchise will be forced to move on from him as the cap savings are too good to pass up.<\/p>\n

If Pittman is cut, he will be able to sign with any team in the NFL immediately. The Steelers should show some interest, as his veteran presence would shore up the wide receiver position for Pittsburgh. The Steelers would still need to address the position in the draft to inject some youth into the wide receiver room, but signing Pittman if he is cut would be a step in the right direction.<\/p>\n

\"Steelers<\/p>\n

Thomas Shea \/ Imagn Images<\/p>\n

Colts’ Michael Pittman Jr. runs with the football during a road game against the Houston Texans in 2025.<\/p>\n

Steelers Need To Bring In A Productive Wide Receiver<\/p>\n

The Colts are attempting to turn the corner as a franchise, and just because Pittman might not be a part of those future plans does not mean he isn’t still a good wide receiver. He hauled in 80 passes during the 2025 season for 784 yards and a career-high seven touchdowns. He did that while dealing with questionable quarterback play down the stretch, and there is no reason to believe he has lost a step. He would be a welcomed addition in Pittsburgh, so that situation in Indianapolis is one to keep an eye on.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"New head coach Mike McCarthy and the\u00a0Pittsburgh Steelers\u00a0have a few weaknesses that absolutely need to be addressed during…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":759001,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2055],"tags":[4994,198,7,2394,392,10117,11808,700,6,520,57,2360,3698,426,104084,2395,1089],"class_list":{"0":"post-759000","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-pittsburgh-steelers","8":"tag-alec-pierce","9":"tag-featured","10":"tag-football","11":"tag-forum","12":"tag-indianapolis-colts","13":"tag-jauan-jennings","14":"tag-michael-pittman-jr","15":"tag-mike-evans","16":"tag-nfl","17":"tag-pittsburgh","18":"tag-pittsburgh-steelers","19":"tag-pittsburghsteelers","20":"tag-rashid-shaheed","21":"tag-steelers","22":"tag-steelers-2026-nfl-free-agency","23":"tag-steelers-news","24":"tag-tyreek-hill"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116087935598793363","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/759000","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=759000"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/759000\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/759001"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=759000"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=759000"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=759000"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}