The Colts retained wide receiver Alec Pierce with a mega-deal on Monday, but they will say goodbye to another key pass catcher. The team has agreed to trade Michael Pittman Jr. to the Steelers, Dianna Russini of The Athletic reports. The deal will be a late-round pick swap, per Tom Pelissero of NFL Network.
The Steelers are awarding Pittman a three-year, $59MM extension, according to Mike Garafolo of NFL Network. The 28-year-old otherwise would have played out the last season of his contract in 2026.
Days after the Colts placed the $37.83MM transition tag on quarterback Daniel Jones, Pierce stayed in place on a four-year, $116MM agreement. That left the Colts in need of cap space. By saying goodbye to Pittman, they will save $24MM at the cost of $5MM in dead money.
A consistently strong contributor since the Colts grabbed him in Round 2 of the 2020 draft, Pittman has reached 80 catches in four of his six seasons. He has also exceeded 1,000 yards twice. While 2025 was a down year in terms of yards per catch (9.8), Pittman still hauled in 80 passes for 784 yards and a personal-best seven touchdowns. He played in all 17 games for the second time in his career. Other than a 13-game rookie year, Pittman has never missed more than one contest in a season.
Although the Steelers do not have an established starting quarterback in place, expectations are that Aaron Rodgers will eventually re-sign. Rodgers quarterbacked the Steelers to 10 wins and an AFC North title last season, but the team lacked weapons at receiver after D.K. Metcalf. While Metcalf finished with 850 yards in 15 games, no other Steeler hit 500. Second receiver Calvin Austin, now a free agent, totaled 31 catches for 372 yards in 14 games. Meanwhile, no one from the Roman Wilson/Adam Thielen/Marquez Valdes-Scantling group posed much of a threat.
Regardless of who is under center for Pittsburgh in 2026, he should benefit from Pittman’s presence. The 6-foot-4, 223-pounder will give the Steelers a second proven wideout to complement Metcalf.
I like this deal for the Steelers. Nice move, especially if it’s a later round pick.
Great move for the Steelers. Feels like a great complementary skill set to Metcalf. Very sound top two receiver tandem.
why so little for pittman?
Wondering the same..
Probably because it’s more of a salary dump to accommodate Pierce and maybe Daniel Jones. It’ll be interesting to see how Pierce does as the true #1 option facing more coverage.
Everybody is wondering that.
Yeah his salary wasn’t cheap but it’s not like he’s overpaid. He’s still fairly young and has been a standout for Indy prior to this year.
Pittman was due $29 mil for 2026, so new deal he was “awarded” by Pittsburgh is more in line with his worth @ around $20 mil per season. Indy couldn’t afford both Pierce & Pittman, Pittman can be replaced with a 4rd or 4th rounder. Pierce more than likely a 1st
Pittman can most definitely not be replaced by a 4th rounder.
I think, as others have said, salary dump due to money given to Pierce.
Also, Pittman only has 2026 remaining on his contract. Needs a new deal after 2026…so could be a one-season loner.
Na the Steelers immediately extended him.
Well done — just saw it. Thank you for the correction!
Love this for 3/$59m!
DK and Pittman is a nice 1-2 punch. If only they had someone to throw them the ball.
They will
As long as its not snowflake Rodgers
Pittman Jr. baby. Comes to the Steel Nation. That’s exactly what we needed. Now all we need is a bona fide quarterback. And we are set.
Holy smokes the Steelers have a legit #2 wr
Surprised other teams like the Patriots or Chiefs were not on this at that price. Great deal for Pittsburgh makes me wonder what the Colts are thinking?
Seriously! This is a crazy move football wise for Indy.
Guess they’re drafting a WR in the second. Do they even have a second round pick?
This trade makes sense financially for Indy but not in any other way.
A late round pick swap for your #2 WR who’s a former 1,000 yard guy and isn’t even 29? Crazy.
Great move I thought colts would keep him tbh but this makes tons of sense.
Love the move. Definitely did not see a trade for Pittman coming. Now, we have to figure out the QB situation sooner rather than later.
Steelers making a great move here. Bring in a QB on the cheap and they could still do something this year with how volatile that division is.
Solid. Now let’s see if the Steelers acquire a true RB.