With the Pittsburgh Steelers needing a No. 2 receiver after trading Diontae Johnson earlier this offseason, one name that immediately stood out was Denver Broncos WR Courtland Sutton when it was reported he was skipping voluntary workouts. Sutton wants a new contract, but Denver reportedly has no plans to trade him despite getting “multiple trade inquiries” on the receiver, according to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler.
The potential fit with Pittsburgh and interest could come due to the fact that Sutton just spent the last two seasons as one of Russell Wilson’s top receivers during his time in Denver, and the two could reunite in Pittsburgh. The sense of familiarity between Sutton and Wilson would help him acclimate into Pittsburgh and he would be a really solid No. 2 next to Pickens. But Denver currently has one of the worst wide receiver rooms in the league, and with the team likely to look for their quarterback of the future in the draft, it makes sense to give him at least some weapons he can use.
Sutton is coming off a season where he had 59 receptions for 772 yards with ten touchdowns, and he’s a former 1,000-yard receiver, as he had 72 receptions for 1,112 yards and six touchdowns in 2019. He’s entering the third year of a four-year, $60 million contract he signed with Denver, but he has just $2 million in guaranteed money this year and no guaranteed money in 2025. Fowler added that Sutton is looking for more guaranteed money, as he’s a team leader in a transitional year with a new quarterback under center after Denver cut Wilson, who’s obviously in Pittsburgh.
It’s seemingly more and more unlikely the closer we get to the draft that, the Steelers will be able to pull off a trade for a wide receiver, and the team may settle for drafting a receiver on Day 2. It’s a deep wide receiver class, though, and Pittsburgh should be able to find a playmaker to add to the room to produce now and in the future. The team has added depth in the form of Quez Watkins and Van Jefferson in free agency, but neither of those guys seems likely to step up and be anything more than a No. 4-type receiver.
It’ll be interesting to see how the Steelers address the receiver position in the draft. It sure sounds as if a trade for Sutton, as unlikely as it may have been initially, is now completely off the table. For the Steelers to compete, they need to add more talent at receiver, and hopefully, that will now happen through the draft.
