Metcalf Practices; Steelers Healthy for Week 1

DK Metcalf is back on the practice field. PennLive's Nick Farabaugh reported Metcalf (undisclosed) and Michael Pittman Jr. (right leg) participated Monday, along with Joey Porter Jr. (back), Jaquan Brisker, Sebastian Joseph-Day, Ben Skowronek, and Will Howard, per Steelers Wire.

Mike McCarthy put the simple stamp on it: "We're healthy." He also said he does not really expect anyone to have a hard time getting ready for Sunday's opener against the Atlanta Falcons.

Receivers who missed the preseason

Metcalf and Pittman are the headline returns. Both missed preseason action after going down around the same stretch of camp. Pittsburgh spent the offseason rebuilding the receiver room around that 1-2 punch for Aaron Rodgers' final lap. Seeing both in Monday's open period is the first clean Week 1 signal.

Porter practicing matters too after a camp back issue and the contract noise around him. Brisker, Joseph-Day, Skowronek, and Howard joining the healthy list fills secondary, interior, and depth spots that had been day-to-day stories in August.

Falcons week with a full skill room

Atlanta arrives Sept. 13 with its own quarterback board already sorted: Tua Tagovailoa starts and Michael Penix Jr. is inactive for Week 1. Pittsburgh's matching story is simpler. McCarthy wants fundamentals and playing within yourself, not a patchwork injury report.

Fantasy managers can stop treating Metcalf and Pittman as soft Week 1 scratches based on preseason DNPs. Practice participation plus McCarthy's healthy quote is the green light until an official report says otherwise. Porter practicing also calms the secondary board even with contract talk still floating.

Pittsburgh's receiver room was built for this exact Week 1 look: Metcalf on the boundary, Pittman in the slot or opposite, Germie Bernard and Roman Wilson in support. Monday is the first time that picture looked available for real.

McCarthy also framed Week 1's biggest challenge as playing within yourself for a new staff and new pieces. Health clears the runway for that message. When Metcalf and Pittman were out, the offense was still learning its identity without its top two targets. Monday puts those targets back in the meeting room and on the grass.

The Steelers still have to finish the week without a setback. Monday's list is the best injury news Pittsburgh has posted since camp opened. Metcalf and Pittman practicing together is the part Rodgers' offense needed before kickoff at home against Atlanta.

Healthy stamp. Receiver duo on the grass. Falcons week is finally a football problem, not a medical one.