With the Pittsburgh Steelers freeing up cap space following Tuesday’s extension with DL Cam Heyward and the team unlikely to use it all on a likely extension with TE Pat Freiermuth, what could the team do with that extra money? They could roll it over into next year, they could use it on another player like RB Najee Harris, or they could wait and make an aggressive in-season move for a wide receiver.
Denver’s Courtland Sutton and San Francisco’s Deebo Samuel are two names who could be mentioned this fall. While the odds were never high, the last 48 hours have made it even more unlikely.
This week, Samuel and Sutton restructured their contracts, lowering their 2024 cap charge. Samuel’s restructure created over $16 million in cap space, per ESPN’s Field Yates.
Sutton’s cleared up almost $10 million, also per Yates.
Given the dead money that would be accelerated should either be traded, it’s difficult to believe either will be traded this season. This would take them out of the theoretical running to be names Pittsburgh could pursue should they look to make a splash addition near the trade deadline.
Of course, there are non-monetary reasons to believe neither receiver was getting moved. Sutton is the top target for rookie QB Bo Nix in Denver and dealing him could hinder Nix’s play and stunt his development. Samuel and the 49ers are gearing up for a Super Bowl run after narrowly missing out the last two years. It’s doubtful their season will go sideways enough to make them sellers by Week 9. Still, Samuel’s restructure has led to some speculation he won’t be traded next offseason either, a common belief after Brandon Aiyuk secured a long-term deal with the team.
Though not relevant at the moment, these changes are key to remember mid-season. It’s one reason why some offseason speculation about Seattle’s Tyler Lockett was fruitless after his spring restructure.
If not Sutton and Samuel, who could Pittsburgh look at? While this is all-too-early speculation, the Las Vegas Raiders Davante Adams will be floated if the Raiders get off to a slow start. Others who could be dot-connected include the New England Patriots’ Kendrick Bourne and the Tennessee Titans’ DeAndre Hopkins.
That’s not to say Pittsburgh should or would consider any or all of those names, but they’re veterans on teams who could be looking to collect draft picks by the deadline. A deadline that, by the way, has been pushed back an additional week to the Tuesday following Week 9 after the NFL adopted a Steelers proposal to push the trade deadline back.
