The Pittsburgh Steelers are 5-2 after a decisive 37-15 victory over the New York Jets on Sunday night. But as head coach Mike Tomlin showed, the Steelers are always looking to improve even when winning. He pivoted to QB Russell Wilson from Justin Fields, who started the Steelers’ first six games of the season. So would Tomlin and general manager Omar Khan make a trade for Los Angeles Rams WR Cooper Kupp to continue pursuing a better offense?
After all, the Steelers pursued San Francisco 49ers WR Brandon Aiyuk in the offseason. And they were linked to Las Vegas Raiders (now Jets) WR Davante Adams. So the front office and coaching staff certainly have shown they want to improve their wide receiver corps. And that’s why Pro Football Focus has the Steelers trading for Kupp as one of its 10 “fairytale trades”.
“He looked fantastic to open the 2024 season in Detroit — posting 14 catches for 110 yards and a 72.8 receiving grade — but missed four straight games with an ankle injury,” Bradley Locker wrote. “If Les Snead wanted to deal Kupp, Pittsburgh would be a perfect partner. The Steelers have generally struggled on offense in Arthur Smith’s first year calling plays, especially through the air. Pittsburgh ranks 13th in EPA per play, primarily to a receiving corps that sits 13th in receiving grade. Not having a viable No. 2 opposite George Pickens has certainly limited the group’s ceiling.”
In eight seasons with the Rams (including two games in 2024), Kupp has 635 receptions for 7,865 yards and 59 touchdowns. On paper, Kupp fits what the Steelers need: An accomplished veteran wide receiver who has plenty of production. And he’s a Super Bowl winner. Both of those reasons are a big part of why the Steelers turned to Wilson at quarterback to boost the offense. Maybe that’s why they’d make the trade for Kupp, too.
None of this matters if the Rams don’t want to move on from him, though. But there is definitely smoke surrounding Los Angeles (not just smog). There are reports that a number of teams are checking in with Snead and the Rams about Kupp’s availability.
But why would the Rams want to move on from a player like Kupp? He’s only 31 years old.
“At 2-4, the Rams face a bit of an injunction regarding their current roster construction,” Locker wrote. “The nucleus from the Super Bowl 56-winning team is either gone or aging; injuries have depleted the current roster; and the defense has been abysmal. Could that make Kupp available? The 31-year-old has been beleaguered with injuries ever since his record-setting 2021 season. In that stretch, Kupp has finished with a receiving grade over 74.0 just one time while not exceeding 767 offensive snaps in a year.”
Kupp has struggled to stay on the field due to injuries. And that’s the biggest crux of the matter regarding this trade. Do the Steelers want to take a chance on a receiver coming off an injury? Especially one who has dealt with multiple injuries recently?
It all depends on the cost. But if healthy, Cooper Kupp would be a massive upgrade to the Steelers’ wide receiver corps. And that’s exactly what Khan and Tomlin have been looking for since the new league year started.
