The Steelers are in the thick of the wide receiver trade chatter with Tuesday’s deadline closing in, and the names tied to Pittsburgh have been trimmed down to a short list.
That push comes after a rough stretch at the position. Michael Pittman and Roman Wilson are both on IR, and DK Metcalf has had a frustrating season by his standards. The seventh-highest paid receiver in the NFL is currently 22nd in catches and 26th in yards, and his yards per route run of 1.2 ranks 78th in the league among players with at least 50 routes run.
Even with those issues, Pittsburgh has managed to climb to 6-2 by leaning on its run game and its defense. Still, the idea of adding another receiver has become hard to ignore if the Steelers want to make their passing game more dangerous down the stretch and into January.
With three days left before the deadline, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler pointed to three names that could be in play for Pittsburgh and other receiver-needy teams.
“Brian Thomas Jr and Josh Downs are two key names,” Fowler writes. “I expect one or both to be moved.
Kansas City, Pittsburgh, San Francisco among teams in WR market. Calvin Ridley is considered a backup option for teams.”
Thomas has been the most talked-about target for more than a month, with his role in Jacksonville slipping behind Parker Washington and Jakobi Meyers. Downs is part of a Colts roster that appears headed for a sell-off, with Quenton Nelson and DeForest Buckner also in trade conversations. If Pittsburgh lands Downs, it would be the second Colts receiver the team has added this year after bringing in Pittman in March.
Ridley is the fallback option, but his usage has dipped as well. He has played just 53 percent of the Titans’ offensive snaps, a drop from more than 80 percent two seasons ago.
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