Steelers Looking To Trade For WR

One reason the Steelers’ stats don’t jump off the page is a lack of production from recent wide receiver additions. Pittsburgh was excited at the aspect of what former Colts WR1 Michael Pittman Jr. might add to a receiving corps headlined by D.K. Metcalf, and the team was hoping to see major development in Year 3 for former third-rounder Roman Wilson. Unfortunately, both sit on injured reserve at the moment, forcing the Steelers to supplement the position group with practice squad players each of the past few weeks.

So far this year, Metcalf has anchored the passing offense, as expected, but Pittsburgh has gotten quite a nice boost from second-round rookie Germie Bernard, who currently sits second in the room with 32 receptions for 227 yards. The pair only have one touchdown apiece, and tight ends Pat Freiermuth and Darnell Washington have been the trustworthy red-zone targets.

If the Steelers are going to make a run, they’re going to need production out of their pass catchers, and Mark Kaboly — Steelers correspondent for the Pat McAfee Show — reports that Pittsburgh intends to make a “semi-big” move to trade for a wide receiver. For more specificity on the vague size reference, Kaboly suggested that the cap hit of Buccaneers wide receiver Chris Godwin ($33.68MM) is untenable, while the cap hits of players like Titans veteran Calvin Ridley ($7.5MM) or recently traded Texan Kayshon Boutte ($3.67MM) would be much more manageable.

That thinking probably rules out a potential trade chip on their current AFC North competition, as Browns wide receiver Jerry Jeudy carries a cap hit on the year of $25.44MM. Either way, while it made sense at the start of the season, ESPN’s Ian Rapoport and Adam Schefter report that Cleveland is not currently shopping Jeudy. Even if they were to listen to offers, the ESPN pair relayed that “the price is high” for Jeudy with general manager Andrew Berry’s desire for “a premium deal” making any potential for a deal seem unlikely.

Whenever the Steelers do find a trade target and potential trade partner, they may be able to lower the asking price by offering up a player of their own to the return package. According to the crew at FOX Sports, veteran linebacker Patrick Queen appears to be a potentially valuable trade target for Pittsburgh coming into the trade deadline. The Steelers signed him away from the division-rival Ravens on a three-year, $41MM free agent deal after a second-team All-Pro season.

Queen excelled in Baltimore thanks, in part, to his first-team All-Pro corpsman, Roquan Smith. A former first-round pick out of LSU, Queen graded out poorly in his first few seasons. Pro Football Focus (subscription required) graded him 82nd of 83 players graded at the position his rookie year and 71st of 86 in Year 2. After Baltimore acquired Smith from Chicago, Queen ranked 31st of 81 in 2022 then topped out at 24th of 82 in the final year of his rookie deal. His first year in Pittsburgh saw him fall to 65th of 84, and last year, he was once again near the bottom, ranked 79th of 88.

The year Queen joined the Steelers, the team also drafted NC State third-round pick Payton Wilson. Wilson took big steps in his development from Year 1 to Year 2, and he’s functioned as a full-time starter this year, grading out much more favorably in the eyes of PFF as the 15th-highest rated backer, while Queen sits at 52nd. If the Steelers are able to avoid losing too much draft capital while also shedding Queen’s $17.19MM cap hit in the acquisition of a new pass catcher, that could be the ideal play for Pittsburgh before the deadline.