It’s safe to say Aaron Rodgers isn’t a fan of the “Pittsburgh Steelers need more wide receivers” narrative that’s been running rampant since the disappointment at the NFL trade deadline.
Speaking with reporters on Wednesday, Rodgers was asked if the Steelers’ versatile tight end group takes the urgency off finding another receiver — but he downplayed the narrative entirely, pointing to personnel decisions, as well as Calvin Austin and Roman Wilson as counterpoints.
“That’s a lot of outside talk,” Rodgers said. “You’ve got to look at the way we’re playing and the personnel groupings that we like. We’re a multiple-personnel team. We run a lot of guys out there. We had an offensive lineman play a lot of snaps.
“Obviously, Darnell [Washington] plays a lot of snaps, and Jonnu [Smith] and Pat [Freiermuth], and Connor [Heyward] get in there on some plays, rotating three different backs, a lot of different receivers, so we’re not a big three-receiver team in general. And Calvin [Austin]’s come back and played really well for us. Roman [Wilson]’s been more consistent. So, there was probably more noise outside the facility than inside the facility.”
Austin put together a solid outing against the Colts in Week 9, catching five passes for 56 yards — while Wilson produced a lowlight for the ages, fumbling the ball with less than four minutes remaining in the game on an unnecessary hurdle attempt.
With few free-agent receivers available, the Steelers will need to rely on their in-house pass catchers — with DK Metcalf leading the charge despite a disappointing six-yard performance last week.
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