The Pittsburgh Steelers could be getting rather healthy coming out of the bye week, thanks to the 21-day windows to return from Injured Reserve being opened for wide receiver Diontae Johnson and running back Anthony McFarland Jr., Monday, according to the team.
Johnson and McFarland Jr. both returned to practice Monday at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex on the South Side as the Steelers hit the practice field coming out of their Week Six bye.
With the two returning to practice, the Steelers now have 21 days to activate them to the 53-man roster or they will remain on Injured Reserve for the rest of the season.
Johnson has been on Injured Reserve the last five weeks after suffering a hamstring injury against the San Francisco 49ers in Week One of the season. McFarland has been on IR the same amount of time as Johnson after he injured his knee in the season-opener against the 49ers.
Johnson went down with his hamstring injury early in the third quarter of the 30-7 loss to the 49ers, coming up lame at the end of a 26-yard catch-and-run that seemed to give the Steelers’ offense some life coming out of the first half. Without him in the lineup, the offense has struggled. Though George Pickens has emerged as a potential No. 1 receiver for the Black and Gold, Pittsburgh remains stuck in the mud without Johnson.
Pittsburgh sits 27th or worse in the NFL in all key offensive metrics, including points per game (15.8, 30th), yards per game (286.2, 30th), passing yards per game (187.8, 27th), and rushing yards per game (80.4, 30th).
Getting their No. 1 receiver back in Johnson should give the Steelers a significant boost, especially quarterback Kenny Pickett. Johnson stated last week to reporters prior to leaving for the bye week that “hell yeah” he is coming back for the Week Seven matchup against the Rams. His return to practice Monday shows that could be the case.
As for McFarland, his return would give the Steelers a boost in the kick return game, an area where McFarland performed quite well before getting hurt. In the loss to the 49ers, McFarland averaged 30.3 yards per kick return, including a long of 34 yards, giving the Steelers good field position each time.
Not only will he give the Steelers a boost in the return game, McFarland has Steelers running backs coach Eddie Faulkner anticipating his return as well. Faulkner said that McFarland has a skill set that is different from Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren, which has a place within the Steelers’ offense moving forward.
The bye week came at a much-needed time for the Steelers to try and reset and get healthy. Johnson and McFarland returning to practice Monday is a good step in the right direction from a health standpoint.
