Steelers New WR Makes the Offense Just Good Enough

The Steelers first pursued Valdes-Scantling after he failed to make the Seattle Seahawks' 53-man roster. Instead, he chose to sign with the San Francisco 49ers, where he played five games and caught four passes for 40 yards.

After Week 5, he was placed on Injured Reserve with a calf injury and then waived with an injury settlement. Now, he's in Pittsburgh.

Is Valdes-Scantling the Steelers Fix?

The Steelers were looking for a speedy wide receiver to open up the field for the passing game. Aaron Rodgers has not struggled this season, and DK Metcalf and company have proven themselves a worthy explosive unit. But the team certainly needs a complement and someone to be more reliable alongside Calvin Austin III.

Valdes-Scantling may fix the right now problem for Pittsburgh in a mild fashion.

He's the speedy wide receiver who's a capable WR3 for any team. A player who's worst season comes with 315 yards and a touchdown, but who's best season consisted of 690 yards and six touchdowns, and a league-leading 20.9 yards per reception. That season was in 2020 with Rodgers as his quarterback.

The chemistry should be there, and Valdes-Scantling has proven himself a reliable veteran on enough teams to believe he can do it again in Pittsburgh. Maybe that's all they were looking for, even if it doesn't feel like the big splash everyone was hoping happened.

Steelers Offense Might Be Enough

The Steelers offense hasn't been bad anyways. Rodgers and company have put together 30-plus point performances twice this season and scored over 20 points in all but one of their seven games.

The group is getting everyone involved, even if it's not to degree that was expected, but Metcalf is leading the way, the tight ends are taking turns with big games and now, Roman Wilson is even joining the mix.

If Valdes-Scantling is all that's joining the mix, the Steelers might be fine. The Steelers cannot make him another Mike Williams, who shows up and doesn't play for the entire season. If that happens, it's a wasted signing.

But if they chose to actually utilize their new wide receiver, they now have three wideouts they can turn to on a game-by-game basis, and an up-and-comer in Wilson. That's enough for mild improvement, which may be all they need.