The Pittsburgh Steelers made a big splash early in the legal tampering window Monday afternoon, swinging a trade with the Indianapolis Colts to acquire veteran wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr. That move answered the significant WR2 issue the Steelers had behind DK Metcalf.<\/p>\n
On paper, it makes some sense as Pittman isn\u2019t much of a downfield threat like Metcalf. What Pittman is, though, is a possession receiver, one who wins off the line of scrimmage quickl<\/a>y and gives his quarterback a quick outlet.<\/p>\n That could pair nicely with 42-year-old quarterback Aaron Rodgers, should he decide to re-sign with the Steelers for a second season.<\/p>\n Yahoo! Sports\u2019 Nate Tice doesn\u2019t quite understand the move though, especially with how the Steelers played under Rodgers last season.<\/p>\n \u201cI wish I could tell you [what they\u2019re doing]. Trying to sell season tickets? That\u2019s kind of been my thought, because they hired Mike McCarthy and just automatically going like, \u2018Yeah, we\u2019re the only Aaron Rodgers team and essentially would love to have him back.\u2019 And Rodgers last year, the thing that was, I would say frustrating, when watching him is that the offense wasn\u2019t awful,\u201d Tice said on the Barstool\u2019s Pardon My Take podcast<\/a> that published Wednesday.<\/a> \u201cBut didn\u2019t push the ball at all. Like he was throwing short of the sticks at one of the highest rates on record\u2026he was checking everything down, throwing underneath, or throwing go balls. And that\u2019s not gonna lead to a lot of sustained success.<\/p>\n \u201cSo if you\u2019re gonna have a quarterback do that, you need guys that can break tackles.\u201d<\/p>\n Based on charting here at Steelers Depot last season, wide receivers forced just 18 missed tackles.<\/a> Metcalf had 12 of those forced missed tackles charted. Calvin Austin III had just three on offense, while Adam Thielen had two and Scotty Miller had one.<\/p>\n The Steelers need someone who can catch short and run long, breaking tackles along the way as that possession receiver. That\u2019s largely where Tice has issue with the Pittman trade.<\/p>\n \u201cPittman I like, but he\u2019s not a tackle breaker, right? He is a back-shoulder guy,\u201d Tice said. \u201cSo, I understand the trade. They needed a wide receiver two. And I\u2019m understanding why they maybe went for a guy that was on the market like Pittman \u2019cause of the [Alec] Pierce stuff with the Colts and everything, but I thought they need a little more juice because they need guys that can take stuff that\u2019s a 2-yard gain and take it 20.<\/p>\n That\u2019s not exactly Pittman\u2019s game. He had just seven forced missed tackles last season, according to Pro Football Focus<\/a>, and had his lowest yards after catch average since 2022.<\/p>\n Though he\u2019s a dependable power slot guy who can win quickly off the line and make tough catches in traffic, he\u2019s not going to catch a short pass, make a defender miss and create an explosive play.<\/p>\n