On Tuesday, free agent WR Tyler Boyd decided to sign with the Tennessee Titans, and that wasn’t overly surprising considering his link to the team’s new head coach, Brian Callahan. While we can debate if the Pittsburgh Steelers even had some sort of serious interest in Boyd prior to Tuesday, it’s all a moot point right now. However, with Boyd now with a new team, the free agent wide receiver list has now shrunk by one more, and quite honestly, there isn’t much to pick from when it comes to the Steelers and them adding a significant playmaker via that route.
A quick look at the available free agent wide receiver list at this point shows that Michael Thomas, Zay Jones, Hunter Renfrow, Russell Gage, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Randall Cobb, Marquise Goodwin, Julio Jones, and Robbie Chosen are the bigger-name players still looking for new homes. I don’t know about any of you reading this post, but I certainly don’t consider any of those nine wide receivers as being anywhere close to fitting a ‘significant playmaker’ definition. A few of those players are more slot wide receivers on top of it and several others are additionally on the wrong side of 30 years of age.
So, where does this leave the Steelers and the ongoing rumor/notion that they will add a significant playmaker at the wide receiver position moving forward into the post-draft portion of the offseason? Quite honestly, and quite obviously, the only way a significant playmaker is likely to be added by the Steelers at this point is probably going to come via a trade. I don’t think you really need to be a rocket surgeon or a heart scientist to figure that out.
With Boyd now landing with the Titans, speculation is beginning to heat up that Tennessee might now be looking to unload WR Treylon Burks, the team’s first-round selection in the 2022 NFL Draft. While that’s fine and dandy if that ultimately happens, even if it does, is Burks really a big needle mover right now? I mean, how can a player who has 49 total receptions for 665 yards and one touchdown on 84 total targets in his first two NFL seasons be considered a significant playmaker? Sure, he has pedigree as a former first-round draft pick, but even so, I think we can all agree he was overdrafted at this point. He’s more of a project than a prospect at this stage. Thanks, but no thanks.
Beyond the new Burks rumblings, what’s left to trade for when it comes to significant playmaker wide receivers, especially if you firmly believe that the San Francisco 49ers won’t be parting ways with one of Brandon Aiyuk, Deebo Samuel, or Jauan Jennings? Really, it leaves us a list that includes the likes of DK Metcalf of the Seattle Seahawks and Courtland Sutton of the Denver Broncos. However, most beat writers who cover both of those players and their respective teams will have you believe that neither player will be traded this summer.
Yes, I hear the speculation that the Steelers might trade for either Terry McLaurin of the Washington Commanders or Chris Godwin of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but quite honestly, I just can’t see that happening for either of those players. McLaurin, by the way, will turn 29 years of age in September, while Godwin turned 28 years of age this past February.
I am sure I have missed a trade candidate or two from the list of someone reading this post, but that’s always sure to happen. That noted, however, I think that you all are seeing the point I’m trying to make. The list of realistic trade candidates at wide receiver for the Steelers at this point is extremely short and almost as unappetizing as the remaining unsigned free agents at the position.
Personally, I think June 2 is the next intriguing date on the calendar for the Steelers and them potentially adding a significant playmaker at wide receiver via a trade. The beat writers and bloggers who cover Metcalf and Sutton be damned, I think one of those two players is the most likely to be acquired by the Steelers via trade, if anyone at all. However, a restructuring of Metcalf’s contract between now and June 1 will quickly cause that duo to quickly become an uno.
In closing, my gut tells me the Steelers still would like to add a significant playmaking wide receiver to that position group between now and the start of the 2024 regular season. That gut feeling aside, there certainly doesn’t seem to be any legitimate options available to complete such a task at this point, and even worse, those legitimate options now seem to be dwindling by the day.
