The Pittsburgh Steelers may not be done tinkering with their wide receiver room, but one potential trade target looks far too pricey for where this team is right now.
After adding veteran Marquez Valdes-Scantling to the practice squad, Pittsburgh appears likely to elevate him to the active roster soon. That part feels straightforward enough, and it’s easy to picture him eventually catching a handful of passes from Aaron Rodgers. But around the league, there’s also growing chatter that the Steelers could still make another move before the NFL Trade Deadline.
That buzz has picked up nationally, too. In a recent CBS Sports piece, Carter Bahns argued that Tampa Bay Buccaneers receiver Chris Godwin would be an ideal fit for a Pittsburgh offense in need of help.
On paper, the fit makes sense. In reality, the numbers make it a nonstarter unless Tampa is willing to swallow a major chunk of the deal.
The problem isn’t whether Godwin can still play. It’s what he costs.
Godwin, who turns 30 and signed a contract before the 2025 season that runs through 2027, is attached to a steep financial commitment. His cap hit for this year and the next two seasons is massive, sitting at just over and under $30 million for 2026 and 2027. Spotrac notes there is an out after the 2027 season, but it would still leave a dead cap charge of $16.2 million.
That’s a tough sell for Pittsburgh. Unless the Buccaneers are willing to absorb a significant portion of the money, there simply doesn’t look to be a workable trade path.
None of that is a knock on Godwin’s résumé. He’s a Penn State product with more than 120 NFL games under his belt and has topped 1,000 receiving yards four times. For a stretch, he was a clear No. 2 receiver who could tilt an offense.
But the last few seasons have changed the picture. Injuries have taken a toll, and he has played in just 16 total games across the 2024 and 2025 campaigns. Bahns pointed to the fact that Godwin is healthy right now as a reason Pittsburgh should consider him.
"He is healthy now, though, and that is what matters to the Steelers," he writes. "Plus, he should be a tremendous fit next to Metcalf. Godwin spent every year prior to this one on the other side of a towering No. 1 target in Mike Evans, so he would be right at home in the same lineup as a similarly sizable go-to weapon like Metcalf."
He has been available in all six games this season, and that matters. But for a Steelers team trying to patch a position hit hard by injuries, bringing in another receiver with an injury history cuts against the whole idea of reinforcing the room.
Godwin would have been the kind of addition that could have smoothed over a lot of offensive problems a few years ago. Now, he looks like an expensive gamble with too much risk attached. For Pittsburgh, that’s a move to pass on.
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