The Pittsburgh Steelers lost some wide receiver depth ahead of the Week 11 matchup with the Cincinnati Bengals, as news surfaced of the New York Giants poaching veteran Isaiah Hodgins from the practice squad.
“A reunion: The Giants are signing Isaiah Hodgins off the Steelers’ practice squad, per source,” The Athletic’s Dan Duggan reported.
He added that the Giants finally did this “six weeks after this was an obvious move, but better late than never!” And that “Hodgins knows the system and will provide a reliable target to a WR room lacking reliable targets.”
Hodgins to NYG is a reunion, as Duggan alluded. He spent most of the 2022 through 2024 campaigns with the Giants, racking up 593 receiving yards and 7 touchdowns off 56 catches.
Hodgins also had a huge playoff impact with Big Blue in 2022, catching 9-of-11 targets for 108 yards and 1 touchdown over a two-game span, for an average of 54 yards per outing.
Steelers Won’t Miss Isaiah Hodgins Much After the Marquez Valdes-Scantling Signing
Of all the players to get poached from the Steelers’ practice squad, Hodgins is probably one of the least impactful. Not only has Pittsburgh yet to call upon the veteran wideout for a practice squad elevation, but he was also recently jumped on the insurance policy pecking order.
The Steelers just signed former Aaron Rodgers teammate and wide receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling to the practice squad, and he could potentially debut in Week 11. Either way, the assumption was that he blew past Hodgins on the practice squad depth chart before the Giants stole the latter away.
“We’ll see what the week holds for him and all the others on the practice squad,” Tomlin said on November 11, regarding Valdes-Scantling. “We’re not opposed to elevating people and giving them an opportunity to contribute. I think it’s just been about every game this year where we’ve elevated someone and utilized their talents.”
“I’m certainly open to evaluating Scantling,” the Steelers HC continued. “His ability to know what to do and the quality of that execution and how it might fit into what we’re trying to do offensively in an effort to engineer victory [could be helpful].”
It remains to be seen if Valdes-Scantling will suit up for his first outing as a Steeler in Week 11, but it’s now clear that Hodgins will not be elevated against the Bengals.
Steelers Still Need Help at WR in Week 11 & Beyond
Stop me if you’ve heard this before — Pittsburgh’s lack of urgency at wide receiver could be their undoing in 2025.
Similar to last year, Steelers general manager Omar Khan and Tomlin passed on adding a wide receiver both before Week 1 and ahead of the trade deadline. Yes, it’s true Pittsburgh traded for DK Metcalf this offseason, but they also traded away George Pickens, which sort of negated the addition.
That swap left them with one star wide receiver once again, and the lack of help for Metcalf has been eerily similar to Pickens in 2024.
Hodgins was by no means the missing piece at wide receiver, and Valdes-Scantling might not be either. Needless to say, the Steelers likely dropped the ball once again this season, sacrificing a real opportunity for a Super Bowl run as they remain in purgatory for another year.
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