There have been a number of wide receivers linked to the Pittsburgh Steelers for possible trades, and things are heating up with just a few days to go until the Nov. 5 trade deadline. According to Adam Schefter via ESPN, the Steelers are checking on “any and all” available wide receivers — specifically naming Mike Williams and Adam Thielen.
“The Steelers have been making calls and checking on any and all available wide receivers before Tuesday’s 4 p.m. ET trade deadline, including the Jets’ Mike Williams and the Panthers’ Adam Thielen, according to league sources,” Schefter wrote. “The Steelers will continue pushing in an attempt to improve by the deadline, but they are far from the only team looking to better position themselves for the second half of the season.”
A recent report from NFL insider Jordan Schultz stated that several teams in the AFC have put trade talks on pause until after Week 9 games. I would imagine that isn’t isolated to AFC teams. Selling or buying at the deadline is a sign of doubling down or giving up on a season. Nobody wants to buy too early or sell too early, so it makes sense that teams want more data in Week 9 before pulling the trigger on trades.
Thielen has been a logical option, but hasn’t been directly linked to the Steelers until this point. The Carolina Panthers are very obviously sellers, and it makes little sense for them to hold onto a player like Thielen, who is 34 years old, when they are 1-7 with no real path forward beyond 2024 as of now.
He only had eight receptions on 12 targets for 109 yards and a touchdown this season, but he has only played in three games. He has been dealing with a hamstring issue recently. He was on IR as a result, and the injury was described as a “severe hamstring injury.” He last played in a game in Week 3.
Though he is 34 years old, Thielen had 1,014 receiving yards on 103 receptions in 2023. He is very experienced, and could provide some value to the Steelers if his hamstring isn’t too shot. That can be a tough injury to come back from, especially at his age.
His current contract carries a base salary of $5,500,000, but nearly half of that has already been paid out through eight weeks in game checks. He is also under contract for 2025 on a $4 million base salary. The Steelers could definitely make it work for him if necessary, but the medicals will be a big part of that conversation.
Williams has been linked to the Steelers for a few weeks now. Once the New York Jets traded for Davante Adams, Williams was reportedly being shopped around. Allen Lazard going to IR, and a recent win for the Jets make his availability in a trade a little less clear. I am sure the Jets are thinking long and hard about retaining him with a sliver of hope in the AFC and a weakened WR room.
The Steelers had interest in Williams during free agency, but he never made it to his Pittsburgh visit before he signed with the Jets. He hasn’t done much for them this season, with just 12 receptions on 21 targets for 166 yards and zero touchdowns.
Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero threw a couple more names into the forefront of the WR trade market via NFL.com this evening.
“Jets WR Mike Williams, Giants WR Darius Slayton, Panthers WR Adam Thielen and Patriots WRs K.J. Osborn and Tyquan Thornton have all garnered interest on some level in the trade market, sources say,” Rapoport and Pelissero wrote. “There’s a good chance at least one is dealt before Tuesday’s 4 p.m. ET deadline, and there could be more.”
Osborn and Thornton are both on the Patriots, though I am not sure either would upgrade the Steelers in any meaningful way.
