Metcalf, Pittman ‘expected to be ready’ for Week 1

Pittman has been playing through a foot injury this season and was seen participating in team stretches earlier today. Although the scooter use is alarming, this is likely just load management. Pittman is a boom-bust FLEX against the Colts this weekend.

That makes two consecutive games with two receptions for the veteran X receiver, who continues to be handily outplayed by teammate Roman Wilson. Pittman brings his season total in receptions to seven after missing Week 2 with injury and remains largely confined to the short areas of the field. The Steelers made good on their promise to increase their 12-personnel utilization against the Browns, and it was Pittman who saw his route participation suffer the most. Pittman is quickly bordering drop candidate territory ahead of a Week 5 meeting with the Colts.

Metcalf managed just three receptions through the first three-plus quarters of play before making two grabs for 50 yards on the team’s penultimate possession, eventually resulting in a tie game with under two minutes to play following a successful two-point conversion. Even though this marks the third game in four tries with nine or more targets, Week 4 was the first game with more than 40 yards for Metcalf as he works to strengthen his connection with Rodgers in a downfield role. In fact, Metcalf more than doubled his year-to-date yardage total from the previous three games against two of the better coverage corners in the league. The individual matchup doesn’t get much easier ahead of a Week 5 meeting with the Colts, who boast another top corner duo in Sauce Gardner and Charvarius Ward. Metcalf remains a wide range of outcomes weekly WR3.

Pittman was back in action after missing Week 2’s game with a foot injury. Despite being on the field for 28 routes, the veteran receiver struggled to make much of an impact, making two eight-yard receptions on back-to-back drives before fading into the distance. Pittman has caught 5-of-8 targets for 74 scoreless yards this season and shouldn’t be counted on for Week 4’s game against the Browns.

Metcalf has yet to crack 40 yards in a game this season, but he did manage to find the end zone for a six-yard touchdown late in the third quarter. The big plays have not been there for Metcalf thus far, who has a long catch of 16 yards. Metcalf will be on the WR3/WR4 radar for next week’s game against the Browns.

It was reported earlier on Sunday that Pittman was expected to suit up, so this isn’t much of a surprise. Despite being ready to go, Pittman will be hard to trust this week against a much-improved Bengals defense. He caught just three passes for 58 yards on three targets in his lone game this season and his best left on fantasy benches in most cases.

Pittman missed last week’s game with the foot issue and was limited in practice throughout this week. He was given a questionable designation on Friday. Pittman will return as the No. 2 receiver on a struggling offense, and he’s likely not back to full strength. Fantasy managers should keep him on the bench for at least one more game before getting him back into lineups.

He was limited in practice all three days this week with a foot injury that kept him out of Week 2. We’d say Pittman is on the optimistic side of questionable based on his participation status. If he’s out again, it would likely be Germie Bernard picking up the slack, as he did in Week 2.

It seems like he’s trending towards playing, though Mike McCarthy seemed unsure about it earlier in the week. That’s two straight limited tags for Pittman. Friday will likely determine if he winds up with a questionable tag or not.

Pittman didn’t practice once last week, so a limited session today is a big step in the right direction. Germie Bernard took his spot in the lineup on Sunday and caught four passes for 35 yards, but he also coughed up a drop that was then intercepted by New England. The mistake all but guarantees his return to the bench once Pittman is healthy.