Pittsburgh

Steelers

Downs’ 2026 season has fallen short of expectations, but perhaps he has a chance to rebound. Breer believes acquiring Downs would “probably” cost a fourth-round pick. He is “one of a number of receivers on the market” at the moment, with the Chiefs and Steelers among the teams looking for help at the position. Breer adds that the 49ers are “open” to adding a wide receiver as well, but with their positional health improving, San Francisco is “less desperate than they were a couple of weeks ago.” The Steelers’ wide receiver corps might be too muddled for Downs to meaningfully increase his productivity, but landing in Kansas City or San Francisco would likely be good for him.

Breer and NFL Network’s Cameron Wolfe put out similar reports today, indicating that the Jaguars are now hesitant to trade away Thomas. Per Breer, Thomas is not the best fit for coach Liam Coen’s scheme, but he “brings a downfield element that’s really important in keeping defenses honest against the run, and opening things up underneath for Jakobi Meyers and Parker Washington.” Wolfe echoed Breer’s downfield sentiment and added that when the Jaguars traded away Tyson Campbell last year, it had a negative impact on the locker room — and Jaguars brass has “learned from it.” Thomas and Travis Hunter are reportedly close friends, and Thomas is liked in the locker room. It sounds like the formerly productive wide receiver might be staying put. Breer lists the Chiefs and Steelers, and the 49ers to a lesser degree, as the teams known to be seeking wide receiver help.

NFL Network’s Cameron Wolfe reports that Maulet is retiring. The 33-year-old slot cornerback began his career with the Saints and Colts and ended it with the Lions, but made the bulk of his impact from 2019-2024 with the Jets, Steelers, and Ravens. Maulet made major noise as a hard-hitting cornerback in the AFC North, going from the Steelers to the Ravens in 2023 and starting a playoff game for Mike Macdonald’s historic Ravens defense. He retires with five career interceptions and five sacks.

Pittman has been on injured reserve since October 10th, and began running last week. While the veteran receiver said he hopes to return after the Steelers’ bye week, he also said that there’s “no time frame” for his return. Pittman’s foot injury was a reaggravation of a previous injury he had earlier in the season, so it wouldn’t be surprising if the Steelers exercised extreme caution to ensure it doesn’t flare up again when he returns. Pittman’s first season in Pittsburgh has been disappointing, to say the least. He has appeared in just three games and has totaled seven receptions for 89 scoreless yards.

Freierumuth is the Steelers’ designated tush push option, which will give him a little added fantasy value here and there. Despite the fact that Darnell Washington outproduced Freiermuth today, Freiermuth ran a route on 11 of the team’s 26 dropbacks, compared to just five for Washington. This simply wasn’t a big day for the Steelers’ passing attack, but we’d expect Freiermuth to remain a mid-range TE2 option going forward.

Washington made a nice 58-yard catch where he broke two tackles, and then tight-rope walked down the sideline before being pushed out of bounds at the one-yard line. It was an impressive display of athleticism from a large human being. Washington was tied for second on the team in targets and played the third-most snaps of any non-offensive lineman or Aaron Rodgers today. However, early data says he ran a route on just five dropbacks, which means he was targeted every single time he ran a route. That type of production can’t hold up in that limited a role.

This wasn’t a big day for Bernard, but it wasn’t a big day for the Steelers’ passing attack either. Pittsburgh was able to control this game on the ground and with its defense. The good news for Bernard is that he was second on the team in targets and ran a route on 22 of Aaron Rodgers’ 26 dropbacks. Bernard is going to be more valuable in PPR leagues because of his shorter route tree, but he should be rostered in most formats given his ability and role.

This was not a great game for Metcalf. He and Rodgers struggled to connect all day, and one of Metcalf’s drops was a near-40-yard pass that hit him square in the chest. The receiver simply dropped the ball and wound up hitting it forward directly into the cornerback’s hands. The good news is that Metcalf ran a route on every single dropback today, but he and his quarterback are not on the same page. Maybe the bye week will help, so don’t drop him yet.

Dowdle looked good in this one, and while he didn’t hit the home run play that Jaylen Warren did, he was ripping off big gains throughout the day. Dowdle played just six fewer snaps than Warren, ran four fewer routes, and had two fewer carries, so he needs to be rostered as an RB3 who would have low-end RB2 value if Warren were to get hurt.

Warren tied a career-high in rushing, but the Steelers opted to try and run out the clock with Rico Dowdle, on Warren’s birthday no less, so Warren was unable to set a new personal best. Warren delivered plenty of chunk gains in this game, including a huge 51-yard run, but he split work pretty evenly with Dowdle. Warren had two more carries and ran four more routes, but this was as close to a split backfield as you can get, so Warren will really need to deliver on his touches to keep producing fantasy value. If you can get an RB1 in a deal for him, it might not be a bad idea to search for offers with Pittsburgh on a bye next week.