Steelers Bring Back Marquez Valdes-Scantling Before Paris

Marquez Valdes-Scantling is back in Pittsburgh. The Steelers signed the veteran wide receiver to their practice squad on Tuesday, adding a familiar face for Aaron Rodgers before Sunday's trip to Paris to face the New Orleans Saints, per ESPN.

The timing is not a coincidence. Michael Pittman Jr. and Roman Wilson were both placed on injured reserve in the past week, and that left the Steelers thin behind DK Metcalf and rookie Germie Bernard.

Why Marquez Valdes-Scantling makes sense right now

Metcalf and Bernard did the heavy lifting on Sunday, combining for 22 catches in the overtime comeback win at Tampa Bay that moved Pittsburgh to 4-2. That is a lot of targets for two guys, and the room behind them had very little experience left.

Valdes-Scantling, 32, already knows the building. He spent part of the 2025 season with the Steelers and caught 10 passes for 80 yards and a touchdown in five games, then added three receptions in the first-round playoff loss to the Houston Texans, per ESPN.

He also knows the quarterback. Valdes-Scantling caught 123 passes in four seasons with Rodgers in Green Bay from 2018 to 2021. For Steelers fans, that history matters more than his 2026 numbers. Rodgers already knows where he is going to be.

A busy two months

Pittsburgh is his third team in less than two months. The Dallas Cowboys released him in late August, and he signed with the Los Angeles Chargers in September. He caught two passes for 22 yards in three games there before the Chargers let him go last week.

That is not a résumé that screams No. 1 receiver, and nobody in Pittsburgh is asking him to be one. The job is simpler: know the playbook, run the routes Rodgers expects, and keep Metcalf from seeing every coverage roll his way.

The practice squad deal also gives the Steelers flexibility. They can elevate him for game days without committing a full roster spot while Pittman and Wilson are out.

Next up: Saints in Paris

The Steelers play the Saints at Stade de France on Sunday at 9:30 a.m. ET, per the team schedule, and the NFL has said it will increase security in Paris for the game. Cleveland comes to Acrisure Stadium the following Sunday.

If you are setting a fantasy lineup, Metcalf is still the Steelers receiver to start in Paris after those 22 combined catches with Bernard, and Valdes-Scantling is only a name to watch if he gets elevated and Rodgers starts looking his way deep.