All eyes turned to WR Davante Adams and the Las Vegas Raiders yesterday after a report surfaced that the team was calling around the league to gauge interest in a potential trade for its star wide receiver. According to Josina Anderson on X, the Steelers have now officially been linked to this situation.
“I’m told the Steelers do have preliminary interest in at least discussing a potential trade for Raiders WR Davante Adams, per sources,” Anderson wrote.
Given how far they got in the process for a possible trade with the San Francisco 49ers for WR Brandon Aiyuk, it makes all the sense in the world that the Steelers would at least be doing their due diligence on this situation.
The Raiders reportedly want a second-round pick, plus additional compensation, to part ways with Adams. But he has made his trade request, and that often takes some of the bargaining power away from the current team.
He also carries a decent-sized cap hit, so any team that acquires him would need to be able to fit him under its salary cap, which is usually not so easy this time of year. Dave Bryan laid out the feasibility and the financials behind a potential trade yesterday, and the Steelers can make it happen if they so choose.
The 3-1 Steelers are in great position early in the 2024 season to make an aggressive move to improve their roster. Justin Fields appears to be running away with the quarterback job and could be the answer for the Steelers in both the short and long term if he continues on this path. As expected, the WR2 situation has not been great in Pittsburgh through the first four games. Wide receivers not named George Pickens have contributed just 3.5 catches, 48 yards, and 0.25 touchdowns per game so far.
Davante Adams sat out the Raiders’ Week 4 game with a hamstring injury and was labeled week to week. Through the first three games, he caught 18 of his 27 targets for 209 yards and a touchdown. He has been one of the top receivers in the league for a long time with five of his last six seasons being over 1,000 receiving yards and two of those being over 1,500.
The trade deadline isn’t until Nov. 5, and the salary cap ramifications will change with each passing week as the Raiders pay more of Adams’ 2024 salary. Given his current injury and how late it is in the week already, I can’t imagine a trade taking place in the immediate term. The Steelers reportedly stuck to their guns with their offer for Aiyuk, so they aren’t going to overpay for Adams, who is turning 32 years old in late December.
