The Steelers explored multiple receiver options before the trade deadline, including Jaguars wideout Brian Thomas Jr., Titans wideout Calvin Ridley and Colts wideout Josh Downs, according to Gerry Dulac. Pittsburgh talked through the possibilities internally, but never completed a deal.
By the time the deadline passed, Thomas and Ridley were still with their teams, while Downs had been moved to the Chiefs.
Ridley had already been on Pittsburgh’s radar. Earlier in the day, Mark Kaboly reported the Steelers were interested in him, but his recent legal incident “soured them” on making a move. Titans coach Robert Saleh described the situation as “very minor” after saying Ridley was involved in a “very minor incident” at the Nashville International Airport during the team’s bye week this past weekend and called it a “very minor miscommunication.”
Thomas also drew plenty of attention. ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported the Jaguars had told teams they intended to keep him through the deadline.
That came after a stretch in which Thomas had played a career-low 43 percent of offensive snaps this season, down from 80 percent as a rookie and 78 percent last year. He had just one catch in Jacksonville’s previous four games, which helped connect the Chiefs, Steelers and Commanders to him in deadline chatter.
Jacksonville’s willingness to hold onto Thomas also fit the broader picture. The Jaguars had already spent significant draft capital this year to add S Jessie Bates, DT Davon Godchaux and DT Jordan Davis, so moving Thomas would have been one way to recoup some of that value. Still, Fowler reported the Jaguars are in contention mode and plan to keep the roster intact unless something unexpected changes.
Ridley, 31, entered the league as a first-round pick of the Falcons in 2018 out of Alabama. He played out the fourth year of his four-year, $10,900,732 contract, which included a $6,007,804 signing bonus.
Atlanta exercised his fifth-year option, set to cost $11.116 million fully guaranteed in 2022, but that was tolled a year after his gambling suspension. The Jaguars later acquired that deal as part of the trade for Ridley at the 2022 deadline.
After that, Ridley reached unrestricted free agency in 2024 and signed a four-year, $92 million contract with the Titans that included $50 million guaranteed. To stay with Tennessee this season, he accepted a restructured deal that came with an $11 million pay cut in March. In 2026, he has played in six games and caught six passes for 91 yards.
Thomas, 24, arrived in the NFL after three years as a starter at LSU, where he earned third-team All-American and second-team All-SEC honors in 2023. Jacksonville took him with the No. 23 pick in the 2024 draft. He is in the third year of a four-year, $14,383,048 rookie contract that includes a $7,280,399 signing bonus and a fifth-year option the team can exercise in 2028.
This season, Thomas has appeared in eight games, catching 10 passes on 22 targets for 117 yards and two touchdowns.
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Rams Missed A Chance To Fix Their Biggest Problem Before Deadline
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