The Pittsburgh Steelers were in the market for a wide receiver during the offseason, with the team desperately needing to add more help for its No. 1 wideout, George Pickens.
But could the Steelers actually trade Pickens? One NFL insider, The Athletic’s Dianna Russini, apparently thinks it’s possible. She lists Pickens as a name to watch ahead of the trade deadline next month.
This comes in the same article in which Russini notes that the Steelers are making an “aggressive” offer for Las Vegas Raiders wide receiver Davante Adams. That makes sense, but the idea that Pickens could be dealt does not.
First, here’s what Russini wrote about the Steelers’ pursuit of Adams:
“The Pittsburgh Steelers, who you may recall were interested in trading for Brandon Aiyuk before he signed an extension with San Francisco this summer, are also in touch with the Raiders’ front office,” Russini writes. “I’m told Pittsburgh is making an aggressive offer.
Russini did not go into detail about why the Steelers would be open to trading their top receiver, and instead only listed him with other possible candidates.
The question now: Will the Chiefs roll the dice again as they chase a three-peat? Names I’m keeping an eye on before the NFL trade deadline:
• Amari Cooper, Browns
• Tee Higgins, Bengals
• George Pickens, Steelers
• Christian Kirk, Jaguars
• DeAndre Hopkins, Titans
Pittsburgh needs to add another wide receiver on top of Pickens, thus trading him away would make zero sense, even if the Steelers trade for another wideout. If the Steelers swap out Pickens for another receiver in any form or fashion, it would leave the team in the same boat it’s in now.
For the Steelers to do something like that, there would have to be serious issues between Pickens and the team that makes a deal necessary. There has been nothing to suggest something like that is going on.
Despite Russini suggesting Pickens as a name to watch, we’d bet the house on the Steelers adding to a wide receivers room that will have the Georgia product in it.
