The Pittsburgh Steelers spent a great deal of the offseason in hot pursuit of a big-splash trade as they were the last team remaining in the Brandon Aiyuk sweepstakes with the San Francisco 49ers. It reportedly came very close to happening, but the 49ers made a successful last-minute push to extend Aiyuk’s contract and keep him in San Francisco. The interest in getting better at that position is obviously there, so it only makes sense for Davante Adams, who reportedly prefers to be traded from the Las Vegas Raiders, to be linked to the Steelers.
On Tuesday, reports surfaced that the Raiders were reaching out to a number of teams to gauge interest in a trade. While the Steelers haven’t officially been linked by any credible reports yet, NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport thinks it makes a lot of sense.
“Here would be my team: the Pittsburgh Steelers,” Rapoport said when asked where would be the perfect for an Adams trade via Good Morning Football on Wednesday. “We spent a lot of time this offseason talking about the Steelers potentially trading for a big-time receiver. I thought so many different times I was getting ready to hit send on the tweet. The trade to the Steelers never happened.
“They are still looking for a receiver and they are good. They’re a good team. The defense is good. The quarterback situation seems to have solidified with Justin Fields playing probably as well as anyone thought he could. They just need one more weapon. Hard to imagine a better player being available at the trade deadline than Davante Adams. These Steelers have shown they’re willing to do it. To me that makes the most sense.”
ESPN’s Dan Graziano reported last week that the Steelers were expected to be in the wide receiver market all the way up until the trade deadline in the beginning of November.
It only makes sense. The wide receiver room has gone pretty much as expected through four games. Many were worried about the depth behind George Pickens, and the other three wide receivers have combined for just 3.5 catches, 48 yards, and 0.25 touchdowns per game. That isn’t enough to come anywhere close to WR2 production, and that is three receivers’ numbers rolled into one.
With the Steelers at 3-1 and a nice lead over much of the AFC North in the standings, the time could be now to make an aggressive move to bolster the offense. Mike Tomlin said on Tuesday that they aren’t there yet, but there is the potential for Fields to end up being the hot hand that they ride for the season regardless of Russell Wilson’s injury status. If they ultimately decide that Fields is the guy, it would make sense to build around him, especially while the defense is so good and capable of taking over any given game.
Our Dave Bryan has written a couple articles about the feasibility of a trade for Adams, including the financials behind the possible move. Long story short, the Steelers could absolutely make it happen, but they would need to figure out Adams’ contract, which carries a fairly high cash and cap hit.
The Raiders are reportedly looking for a second-round pick in return plus potential compensation on top of that. I doubt the Steelers would make a move immediately, so that price tag goes down with each passing week as the Raiders pay more of his 2024 salary.
