Former WR Target Available for Steelers

The Pittsburgh Steelers spent much of last offseason in the hunt for another wide receiver in order to help fix issues with the room that stemmed from letting Diontae Johnson go in a trade.

Now, with the departure of George Pickens in a trade to the Dallas Cowboys, the Steelers are in much of the same position now. And, for the second time, their top option at the position could be available.

Following a long and exhausting saga that saw the Steelers not be able to land 49ers wideout Brandon Aiyuk, it seems possible that he is on the market again.

After suffering a torn ACL that ended an otherwise disappointing season for Aiyuk on the first year of a long term deal costing the 49ers $27 million yearly, it seems as if they are ready to offload that contract to a team willing to take more risks.

In an appearance on 93.7 The Fan, NFL analyst Mike Florio claimed that the 49ers would be interested in passing the contract along to the Steelers.

“The 49ers would love to unload Brandon Aiyuk’s contract on the Steelers,” Florio said.

With Pickens gone, the Steelers certainly should be making a move to land a wide receiver. With them taking as long as they did to trade away Pickens, the crop of available receivers has thinned considerably, leaving the Steelers with little recourse.

Despite this, the Steelers are still unlikely to land Aiyuk in any capacity. The contract, combined with the $33 million that the Steelers owe DK Metcalf yearly is far too much for the team to handle in terms of contract woes. If the team is interested in running a strong defense in the future, they would be unwilling to pay such a high amount for a relative risk on the field.