One thing is for sure: the Pittsburgh Steelers want to add to their wide receiver room. After trading Diontae Johnson during free agency, they signed a number of depth receivers and drafted Roman Wilson in the third round but did nothing to replace Johnson as a WR2 directly. They have been linked to both Brandon Aiyuk and Davante Adams in trade talks but struck out both times. On Saturday, CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones described the Steelers as “aggressive” in their pursuit of a receiver leading up to the deadline on Nov. 5.
On the surface, there are not that many great trade targets that would appear obvious. Often, those are just the players on bad teams that have already fallen out of reasonable playoff contention—think DeAndre Hopkins with the 1-4 Tennessee Titans or Darius Slayton with the 2-4 New York Giants. But if the Steelers truly are “aggressive” in their pursuit, then the world of possibilities opens up quite a bit.
When Adams and Amari Cooper were traded early this week, that triggered a flurry of wide receiver trade calls from all teams in need. The Steelers, along with the Kansas City Chiefs, are at the top of that list. There are multiple notable receivers that would be expensive and difficult to acquire if they were even made available. Three very notable names were floated by credible national reporters on Saturday.
Deebo Samuel – San Francisco 49ers
As soon as Aiyuk was extended, the clock started on when the 49ers would have to get rid of Samuel. They simply have too many big contracts on the books with QB Brock Purdy upcoming this offseason. They also happen to have an embarrassment of riches at the receiver position with Aiyuk, Samuel, Jauan Jennings, and first-round rookie Ricky Pearsall.
The Athletic’s Dianna Russini listed some names to watch and added Samuel’s name into the mix among any and all of the Carolina Panthers’ WR room (Diontae Johnson, Jonathan Mingo, Adam Thielen) and the Titans’ group of Hopkins and Treylon Burks. The Steelers have been linked to Samuel at times throughout the Aiyuk saga. He has an interesting contract situation with voidable years to help spread out his cap hit. In terms of his actual contract years, he has base salary figures through 2025.
Cooper Kupp – Los Angeles Rams
The Rams have a second-year wide receiver ready to carry the group into the future, and their Super Bowl window is rapidly closing. They haven’t closed the door yet on their 2025 chances, but they have already suffered so many notable injuries and sit at 1-4 through the first six weeks. According to Ian Rapoport on NFL.com, teams have inquired about Kupp. There is nothing officially linking the Steelers to him, but I would assume they are players in just about any WR possibility, no matter how improbable they may seem.
Rapoport noted that any trade for Kupp would be complicated and multi-faceted, but if the Steelers are aggressive and think they have a shot to compete down the stretch, it could be worth a seat at the negotiation table.
Along with his article, Rapoport added this on NFL GameDay Kickoff this morning:
“Could Cooper Kupp be available? He’s obviously well-liked in the building. He’s in Sean McVay’s first draft class, but certainly someone who could absolutely help a team trying to look for one final piece for the playoff push,” Rapoport said. “The Rams are 1-4. If they continue to lose, certainly they could look to sell.”
He added the Steelers, Chiefs, and Ravens are among the teams most likely to be involved in WR trade talks ahead of the deadline.
Kupp’s contract could be tricky to figure out as he has high base salary numbers through the 2026 season.
Garrett Wilson – New York Jets
Many have been talking about WR Mike Williams since the Jets traded for Davante Adams, but ESPN’s Adam Schefter floated a different and more notable name on Saturday evening. Apparently, teams have been inquiring about 2022 first-round WR Garrett Wilson. This is only his third season, so the fifth-year option decision will come this offseason. His base salary is relatively cheap with most of the first-round contract tied up in a signing bonus.
That being said, this trade candidate seems the least likely by far. Mike Williams remains much more of a possibility for the Steelers, especially with reported interest already there and talks being shelved until after the Steelers-Jets game.
“A select group of NFL teams have inquired into whether the Jets would be willing to trade fellow star wide receiver Garrett Wilson, league sources told ESPN on Saturday,” wrote Schefter. “The Jets have heard from other teams but are not planning to trade Wilson, according to sources.”
He noted it all sounds like a moot point with the Jets planning to keep Wilson.
