While on a fishing trip to Uganda with his brother, Michael Pittman Jr. learned he’d been traded to the Steelers, triggering a 20-hour journey to Pittsburgh with connecting flights in Ethiopia, Ivory Coast and New York City.
“We actually ended the trip about six days early, but I thought that it was important to get back,” he said Friday as the team officially introduced him. “As much fun as we had, I had to get back here.”
His far-flung locale seemed quite befitting considering how the Steelers have searched far and near for receiver help in recent years. The 6-foot-4, 223-pounder gives the team a polished pass-catcher to complement DK Metcalf, a luxury the offense glaringly lacked a year ago.
Pittman posted a pair of 1,000-yard receiving seasons for the Indianapolis Colts, who drafted him in the second round in 2020. He surpassed 100 catches in a season once, something no Steelers receiver has done in five years.
Known for his physicality, the 28-year-old was a sure-handed option for the Colts with a knack for making contested catches. He caught 80 of his 111 targets for 784 yards and seven touchdowns last year.
But after talking with coach Mike McCarthy, Pittman said he envisioned a more diverse role in the Steelers’ new scheme than as merely a possession receiver.
“I don’t want to give up his secret sauce, but it was very positive and diversifying the things that I can do,” Pittman said. “Because, obviously, in Indy, I played a certain role there. You were asked to play a certain role. Like, you gotta do it. So (now I’m) just getting back to where I have more of a diverse route tree.”
In a wide-ranging introductory news conference, Pittman shared details of the 43- and 100-acre farms he owns complete with horses, cows, chickens, turkeys, goats, dogs and a peacock named Perry. He shared personal details of his lifelong perseverance to overcome a stutter.
He also shared how his wife predicted his trade to the Steelers weeks earlier.
“About a month and a half ago now, my wife had told me that she had a dream that I was wearing a Pittsburgh Steelers jersey,” Pittman said. “I kind of just brushed it off. I went: ‘Yeah, OK. Cool.’ Right? And then it’s just kind of crazy how it happened.”
Pittman was an integral player for the Colts and led the team in receptions last season. But lately, he competed for targets with rookie tight end Tyler Warren, third-year receiver Josh Downs and deep threat Alec Pierce, who signed a $114 million extension earlier this week.
With the Steelers, Pittman joins an offense searching for added production from its receivers. No wideout reached 60 catches last year (Metcalf had 59).
Pittman hasn’t had fewer than 69 since his rookie year. He averaged more than 12 yards per catch in his first two seasons, but that dropped to 9.8 yards per catch last year when his longest covered just 27 yards.
“I feel like I really showed that (diverse route-running) in my first three years and then it just kind of got narrowed down to certain things,” Pittman said.
The Steelers traded away little to acquire Pittman, sending a 2026 sixth-round pick to the Colts while getting back a seventh-rounder. The Steelers signed Pittman to a three-year, $59 million contract extension, according to reports.
What isn’t known yet is who’ll be throwing him passes.
As a Southern California native and USC alum, Pittman said he’d previously met Aaron Rodgers, who lived in Malibu. The two worked out at some of the same places, but Pittman said he hasn’t had a chance to reach out yet.
The wideout endorsed the idea of Rodgers returning for another season but stressed that he wasn’t worried if the quarterback didn’t re-sign. Besides, Pittman pointed out that he’d had a different quarterback each year in Indianapolis.
“Whenever you have a chance to play with a Hall of Fame quarterback, you always take that,” Pittman said. “We also have two really good quarterbacks here in Mason (Rudolph) and Will (Howard), so whatever ends up turning out, I think we’ll have a good plan offensively and we’ll make the most of it.”
Pittman said his conversation with McCarthy left him excited for the future, especially after the coach shared plans of his expanded role. But for now, Pittman kept those details to himself.
“That has to be classified. It’s between me and him,” Pittman said. “But it just got me fired up. I feel like Pittsburgh is my style of football — tough, smash-mouth, gritty — and I think that I fit in perfectly here.”