Steelers coaches and Aaron Rodgers keep pointing to injured practice squad WR Max Hurleman

Pittsburgh's search for receiver help keeps landing on a player who hasn't taken an NFL snap yet. Head coach Mike McCarthy and quarterback Aaron Rodgers both brought up Max Hurleman this week. Hurleman is a second-year receiver who has been on practice squad injured reserve since September, and both men talked about him as a possible reinforcement for a depleted position group.

"I mean, how do you not love Max?" McCarthy said Thursday, according to SB Nation's Behind the Steel Curtain. The outlet reported that McCarthy called the early-season injury unfortunate. A day earlier, Rodgers named Hurleman when asked whether the Pittsburgh Steelers were getting healthier at receiver. Steelers.com reported that both the coach and the quarterback raised Hurleman's name. Steelers Depot said the former training camp favorite is still waiting on his NFL debut.

Hurleman came to Pittsburgh as an undrafted free agent out of Notre Dame in 2025. He is listed at 5-foot-11 and 200 pounds. CBS Sports reported that he signed with the practice squad on Sept. 2 and went on practice squad injured reserve on Sept. 19 with an undisclosed injury. That move required him to miss at least four games, and he has now missed more than that. The team has not activated him.

The interest makes sense because of who is unavailable. Steelers.com noted that Michael Pittman Jr., Roman Wilson and Ben Skowronek have each missed the last three or four games. Brandon Smith and Brandon Johnson have played real snaps in their place, and Smith has since been promoted to the active roster. Marquez Valdes-Scantling and Isaiah Hodgins are also on the practice squad. Both McCarthy and Rodgers talked this week as if they trust the receivers already in the building, and the trade deadline has passed, so any added help would have to come from inside the organization. Hurleman is one of the few internal options with real upside who hasn't played yet.

What it means for Cincinnati

Whatever Hurleman's timeline turns out to be, Pittsburgh has been winning without healthy receivers. The Steelers are 6-2 and have won four straight, most recently a 27-6 home win over Cleveland. Before that they beat New Orleans 16-10, Tampa Bay 26-19 and Indianapolis 34-22. The defense has carried a lot of the load, allowing 19 points or fewer in each of the last three games. Pittsburgh's two losses came on the road, 24-27 at Cleveland and 3-20 at New England.

Next is a trip to Cincinnati on Sunday night, Nov. 15, on NBC. The Steelers beat the Bengals 30-27 at home earlier this season, but the market still has Cincinnati favored. On this site's board, Novig is one of 11 venues listing the game. It has the Bengals at -167 on the moneyline and the Steelers at +163, with Cincinnati favored by 3.5 points. Pittsburgh is -104 at +3.5 and Cincinnati +102 at -3.5. Novig sets the total at 49.5, and FanDuel has the best over price anywhere at 48.5 (-115). The other venues are fairly close together: sportsbook hold ranges from 3.2% to 5.3% on the moneyline and 3.0% to 5.0% on the spread.

A total near 50 assumes more scoring than Pittsburgh's recent games have produced. How much the Steelers can get from their receivers at Paycor Stadium could decide whether this game goes that way.