Pittsburgh Steelers Fantasy Football News | Shark Bites

According to Seahawks HC Pete Carroll, WR DK Metcalf is out of his walking boot. He’s resumed running, too, per Carroll. In February, Metcalf underwent surgery to have a screw removed from a prior procedure. Per Ian Rapoport, the issue bothered Metcalf throughout last season. Now we’ll see if Seattle’s able to lock up the 24-year-old with a long-term contract. Extension talks are underway.

Mark Kaboly of The Athletic considers 4th-round WR Calvin Austin the “biggest question mark” in Pittsburgh’s draft class. Kaboly writes that Austin could be used as a “toy” in OC Matt Canada’s offense, seeing touches on end-arounds and jet sweeps. Austin’s only 5’8 but brings exciting speed to the Steelers’ new-look offense. “He is smaller but he is extremely fast,” GM Kevin Colbert said. “I think he timed on our watches in the 4.4s at the Combine, but coach reminded me that he is a 200-meter guy and he’s probably hitting his peak speed at 40 yards.” Unlikely to ever project for high volume, Austin profiles more as a real-life asset than a fantasy one.

The Steelers added Memphis WR Calvin Austin in Round 4 of the 2022 NFL Draft. Austin goes just 5’8 and 170 pounds, which figures to be a limiting factor. But he’s an electric playmaker, with a 4.32-second 40 time and elite agility. He earned a 90th percentile Relative Athletic Score. Austin led Memphis in receiving each of the past 2 seasons, with 63-1,053-11 and 74-1,149-8 lines. He played primarily outside the numbers in college but figures to be a slot and gadget player as a pro. He joins fellow rookie WR George Pickens in Pittsburgh, behind WRs Diontae Johnson and Chase Claypool.

The Steelers added Georgia WR George Pickens with the 52nd overall pick of the 2022 NFL Draft. Pickens was a 5-star recruit and a top-5 WR in the 2019 class. He immediately delivered on that hype, leading the Bulldogs in catches (49), yards (727) and TDs (8) as a true freshman. He ranked 17th in Pro Football Focus’ receiving grades among 290 WRs with 50+ targets – 2 spots ahead of Jerry Jeudy and 3 spots ahead of Justin Jefferson. Pickens improved his per-game numbers a tad in 2020, averaging 4.5 catches, 64.1 yards and .75 TDs across 8 games. But his PFF receiving grade took a significant step back, landing 75th among 146 qualifying WRs. Pickens’ 2021 was then basically wiped out by a torn right ACL suffered in March of that year. He made it back for the final 4 games of the season but totaled just 4 catches. That freshman year is enticing, though, and Pickens pops on tape. He has long-striding speed, a big catch radius and is physical after the catch. The 6’3, 195-pounder earned a 94th percentile Relative Athletic Score at the Combine. Pickens’ limited college resume leaves him as a risky prospect. But he has the upside to develop into a #1 WR in the NFL. Diontae Johnson and Chase Claypool are locked in as Pittsburgh’s top 2 WRs in the short term, but Pickens has a good shot to win the #3 WR job this summer. Longer term, Johnson is is the final year of his contract and Claypool is set to hit free agency in 2024.

Chargers TE Donald Parham has signed his exclusive-rights tender, meaning he'll be back with the team for the coming season. ESPN's Jeremy Fowler reports that Parham is "healthy and expected to compete for the starting tight end job." Parham's 2021 season ended with the scary concussion against the Chiefs on Dec. 16. We'll be watching to see what role he's expected to fill this season, but it's tough to imagine he truly has a shot at the top job after the Chargers guaranteed $8 million of TE Gerald Everett's 2-year deal.

The Falcons are re-signing RB Cordarrelle Patterson, NFL Network's Mike Garafolo reports. We'll look for details on the contract, but this was always the best-case scenario for Patterson. He had the rare 9th-year breakout in his Falcons debut last season, posting a 153-618-6 rushing line with 52-548-5 receiving to finish 9th among RBs in PPR points. Atlanta currently only Mike Davis and Damien Williams alongside Patterson in the backfield. We'll see what else the team adds, but Patterson has a chance to play a similar role in 2022.

Update: Patterson got a 2-year, $10.5 million deal, according to insider Aaron Wilson.

NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reports that Seahawks WR DK Metcalf had foot surgery recently to remove a screw from a previous procedure. Metcalf played through foot trouble all season. It's not clear how much this screw removal helps, but it clearly can't hurt. We'll keep an eye on Metcalf's health reports throughout the offseason for any signs of lingering issues. Metcalf, of course, finished 15th among PPR wideouts despite the foot issue and Russell Wilson's missed time. So we're not too worried about the 24-year-old's outlook.

Steelers TE Pat Freiermuth (concussion) isn't listed on the final injury report after putting in a full week of practice. He'll play vs. the Browns on Monday night but sits well outside the top 12 in our Week 17 TE Rankings.

Steelers TE Pat Freiermuth (concussion) put in a full practice on Thursday. He's on track to return for Monday night's game vs. the Browns, barring a setback between now and then. Freiermuth averaged just 3.7 targets and 3 catches over his last 3 healthy games, so he's a fringe fantasy option.

Steelers HC Mike Tomlin said Tuesday that TE Pat Freiermuth has a chance to play Monday night against the Browns, according to the team website. Freiermuth missed last week's loss to the Chiefs with a concussion. We'll see about his practice participation beginning Thursday.

Washington has activated LB Cole Holcomb from the COVID list. That should have him ready to face the Eagles on Sunday. Holcomb collected 10 tackles in the Tuesday-night loss at Philly in Week 15.

Steelers TE Pat Freiermuth (concussion) is out for Sunday’s game vs. the Chiefs. No surprise after he suffered his 2nd concussion of the season last week. Zach Gentry will step in as Pittsburgh’s lead TE but isn’t a viable fantasy play.

Washington on Wednesday placed LB Cole Holcomb on the COVID list. We'll see whether he can make it back for Sunday night's game against the Cowboys.

Steelers TE Pat Freiermuth sustained a concussion in Sunday's game vs. the Titans and is done for the day. It's his 2nd concussion of the season, which might hurt his chances of getting cleared for Week 16. We'll track Freiermuth's progress through the protocol.

The Steelers believe EDGE T.J. Watt suffered only a minor groin injury in Thursday night's loss to the Vikings. We'll see how he looks leading up to Week 15, but we'd bet on him being ready to play.

Steelers EDGE T.J. Watt left in the 2nd quarter of Thursday night's game against the Vikings with a groin injury. He's questionable to return.

Update: Pittsburgh has ruled him out for the game.

The Steelers on Saturday activated EDGE T.J. Watt from the COVID list. That gets him back into the lineup for Sunday's game against the Ravens and significantly improves the Pittsburgh defense. It's still a fine matchup for Lamar Jackson, but the Steelers looked like a potential pushover on that side of the ball without their best defensive player.

Steelers TE Pat Freiermuth (concussion) isn’t listed on the final injury report. He landed in the concussion protocol early in the week but put in 3 full practices. He’s a rock-solid TE1 play vs. the Ravens on Sunday.

Steelers TE Pat Freiermuth (concussion) put in a full practice on Wednesday. That puts him on track to be cleared in time for this weekend's game vs. the Ravens. Assuming that happens, Freiermuth will be a top-12 fantasy play vs. the #26 TE defense.

Steelers TE Pat Freiermuth is in the concussion protocol, HC Mike Tomlin said Tuesday. So the rookie's availability for this weekend's game vs. the Ravens is now in doubt. With TE Eric Ebron on IR with his knee injury, Pittsburgh might be down to TE Zach Gentry, who owns just 8 career catches.