For the second consecutive March, the Pittsburgh Steelers acquired a high-profile name on the veteran wide receiver market — just not so via free agency.
For the second year in a row, too, this target is a big one — literally.
The Steelers acquired 6-foot-4 Michael Pittman Jr. from the Indianapolis Colts, according to a report from ESPN. Pittman, 28, twice has surpassed 1,000 receiving yards over his six prior NFL seasons.
According to the NFL Network, Pittman and the Steelers agreed to a three-year, $59 million contract. He had been owed $24 million for 2026 on an expiring deal.
There was no immediate word on the precise compensation the Steelers are sending to the Colts, but it was expected to be late-round draft capital.
A message reading, “BLACK AND GOLD!!!!!!” was posted to Pittman’s verified X account.
BLACK AND GOLD!!!!!!
— MPJ (@MikePitt_Jr) March 9, 2026
In 2025 on the eve of free agency’s “legal tampering period” — which began Monday this year — the Steelers traded a second-round draft pick to the Seattle Seahawks for DK Metcalf. But Metcalf’s production dipped in his first season with the Steelers, in part because the team had no legitimate WR2 threat.
Now, new coach Mike McCarthy has a pair of proven veteran, 6-foot-4 wideouts as he builds his offense.
Pittman has 485 career receptions for 5,254 yards and 25 touchdowns and has played in 95 of Indianapolis’ 101 games since the Colts made him a second-round pick in 2019. A second-team All America honoree during his final season at USC, Pittman started eight games as a rookie when he was limited by a calf injury.
But in the five seasons since, Pittman has led the Colts in either receptions, receiving yards or both — despite Indianapolis having a different primary starting quarterback for each of his six NFL seasons.
The Colts, though, have Josh Downs and Alec Pierce at receiver in addition to burgeoning star tight end Tyler Warren. As free agency was getting underway Monday, Pierce re-signed with Indianapolis for a reported $116 million over four years in a transaction that made Pittman expendable.
Metcalf has four years remaining on a deal that averages $30 million annually. But aside from him, the only receivers the Steelers had under contract for 2026 were Ben Skowronek and Roman Wilson. Wilson has only 12 career catches in two seasons, and Skowronek is better known for his special-teams prowess.
Calvin Austin III, Adam Thielen, Marquez Valdes-Scantling and Scotty Miller were receivers playing more significant roles down the stretch last season for the Steelers than Wilson or Skowronek. All four are unrestricted free agents free to negotiate with other teams as of noon Monday, although no contracts can be formally signed until the NFL’s new league year opens at 4 p.m. Wednesday.
Pittman’s acquisition ends a seemingly never ending saga for the Steelers in pursuit of a legitimate No. 2 wide receiver. It began in March 2024 when they traded Diontae Johnson, spurring a summer of will-they-or-won’t-they chatter about a possible trade with the San Francisco 49ers for Brandon Aiyuk.
The Steelers never did acquire a complement to then-No. 1 WR George Pickens — until the Metcalf trade over the ensuing offseason. But two months after adding Metcalf, the Steelers dealt Pickens to the Dallas Cowboys to bring their WR corps back to square one.
Pickens, meanwhile, was second-team All Pro for Dallas last season and was given the franchise tag by the organization before free agency.
Pickens had more catches (93), receiving yards (1,429) and receiving touchdowns (nine) than the entire non-Metcalf Steelers’ 2025 WR group had (77 catches, 866 yards, seven touchdowns).
That combined production (from Austin, Wilson, Thielen, Valdes-Scantling, Miller and Skowronek) is a rough equivalent to what Pittman did by himself — in an “off year,” for him — last season (80 catches, 784 yards, seven touchdowns).
Despite the clear upgrade Pittman provides, the Steelers are expected to add more to their wide receivers position room both as free agency continues and in the draft next month.