Yesterday was a hectic day in the NFL as both Davante Adams and Amari Cooper found new homes, Adams getting traded to the New York Jets and Cooper to the Buffalo Bills. There may be no team in the NFL right now that remains as receiver-needy as the Pittsburgh Steelers, and ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler believes they are the “next team up” when it comes to trading for a receiver. He wrote in his weekly news and notes column that newly-available WR Mike Williams could make sense for Pittsburgh.
“Pittsburgh appears to be the next team up. It has been scouring the earth for receiver help, making strong pushes for Brandon Aiyuk and Adams in the past. Williams could make some sense as a deep-threat option, though the Jets and Steelers play this week, which complicates matters. Either way, Pittsburgh will be looking,” Fowler wrote.
The Jets are reportedly planning to make Williams available for trade after acquiring Adams to get rid of the logjam that currently exists in their receiver room. But, as Fowler noted, the fact that Pittsburgh plays New York this week adds a potential barrier, which makes it unlikely that a trade would get done this week if indeed Williams to Pittsburgh would come to fruition. It’s a name that makes a lot of sense due to the Steelers’ prior interest, as they were supposed to host Williams for a visit this offseason.
Even though he’s struggled a bit in New York this season with just 10 receptions for 145 yards, the Steelers could utilize him more and likely better than he was in New York. Talent-wise, he’d be an upgrade to the room and could start on the outside. Williams isn’t the only option for the Steelers, either, as they were linked to Courtland Sutton this offseason and he’s still a potential option. Meanwhile names like DeAndre Hopkins and Christian Kirk have been floated in connection to the Steelers since the start of the season.
After missing out on Aiyuk and Adams (the Browns never would’ve sent Cooper to a division rival), the Steelers are probably now looking at receivers a tier or two below the guys they were hoping to acquire, but the pursuit to find receiver help remains on. The Steelers are 4-2 and just haven’t gotten a ton of production from their receiver room, and if it’s a room that needs reinforcements if the Steelers want to contend in January and February. At this point, it would honestly be a surprise if the Steelers didn’t add to their receiver room.
