DK Metcalf has pedestrian statistics in his first season with the Pittsburgh Steelers, certainly not the kind they expected when trading with the Seattle Seahawks for the two-time Pro Bowl wide receiver in the offseason, then signing him to a five-year, $ 150-million contract.

Metcalf has just 32 receptions on 53 targets through nine games for 502 yards and five touchdowns. While he leads the Steelers in those categories, he is 53rd in the NFL in receptions.

Part of Metcalf's lack of production comes from quarterback Aaron Rodgers spreading the ball around. The Steelers have 13 different players with receptions.

However, the bigger part of the problem is the Steelers' lack of quality depth at wide receiver, allowing opponents to double-team Metcalf consistently.

Calvin Austin III, the Steelers' WR2, is sixth on the team with 21 receptions for 237 yards and two TDs. Meanwhile, the other wide receivers' statistics have been negligible: Roman Wilson (11 for 149, 2 TDs), Ben Skowronek (2 for 35, 1 TD), and Scotty Miller (1 for 9).

"We haven't done a good enough job of putting others, other than DK, in position to win and win big, and they haven't won big enough," Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said Tuesday during his weekly press conference. "We got to do a better job there."

The Steelers are 23rd in the NFL in passing offense and 29th in total yards. Yet they lead the AFC North with a 5-4 record going into Sunday's game against the visiting Cincinnati Bengals (3-6) at Acrisure Stadium.

Perhaps at least a partial answer to the wide receivers' lack of production is veteran Marques Valdes-Scantling, who was signed to the practice squad last week after being released by the San Francisco 49ers. The 31-year-old had just four receptions for 40 yards in five games with the 49ers.

Valdes-Scantling spent the first four seasons of his career with Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers from 2018-21, averaging 17.5 yards per reception on 123 catches for 2,153 and 13 touchdowns. Tomlin said Valdes-Scantling might get an opportunity.

"We'll see what the week holds for him and all the others on the practice squad," Tomlin said. "We're not opposed to elevating people and giving them an opportunity to contribute. It's been about every game this year where we've elevated someone and utilized their talents. I'm certainly open to evaluating Scantling, his ability to know what to do, the quality and execution, and how it might fit into what we're trying to do offensively in an effort to engineer victory. Certainly."