The Pittsburgh Steelers made an upgrade to their offense earlier this week, with TE Jonnu Smith being part of the return in the Minkah Fitzpatrick-Jalen Ramsey trade. While Smith could help fill the WR2 role, the Steelers could definitely still use some help in terms of receivers. That’s why CBS Sports’ Cody Benjamin listed them as a fit on Wednesday for both Amari Cooper and Keenan Allen.
“At this point, it just feels irresponsible not to include the Steelers on any list of potential skill-weapon suitors…Both Allen and Cooper are precisely the kind of crisp route-runners that Rodgers would surely endorse, and it’s not like their entry would threaten too many of Metcalf’s opportunities as the bona fide No. 1,” Benjamin wrote.
Cooper has been thought of as a fit for the Steelers ever since the offseason began. He’s still on the market for two likely reasons. One, he’s now on the older side of 30, and the other is his drop in production last year.
It wasn’t that long ago that Cooper was considered one of the better receivers in the league. During the 2023 season, he helped Joe Flacco’s renaissance along, leading the Cleveland Browns to the playoffs. That year he recorded a career-high 1,250 receiving yards and scored five times. Unfortunately for him, things weren’t the same in 2024. Spending time with Cleveland and the Buffalo Bills, Cooper had just 547 receiving yards on 44 receptions.
To his credit, there was some truly awful quarterback play taking place in Cleveland last year. It would have been hard for any receiver to make much of an impact. Still, Cooper just didn’t look like himself even after moving to Buffalo. As veterans like Cooper get older, especially after coming off a down year, they might only want to play if the price tag is high enough.
As for Allen, things might be tougher for the Steelers there. He’s actually coming off a productive season. Despite turning 32, and playing in a dysfunctional Chicago Bears’ offense, Allen reeled in 70 passes for 744 yards and seven touchdowns. Those are good numbers considering his age. But Allen will turn 33 next year, and during a livestream a few weeks ago he indicated a lack of interest in playing in Pittsburgh.
Benjamin is right that each of these players would be good fits for Aaron Rodgers. The Steelers already have a deep threat, possession receiver in DK Metcalf. In Pat Freiermuth they have a big body over the middle. Both Jaylen Warren and Kenneth Gainwell can catch the ball in the backfield. New addition Jonnu Smith will impact the offense in many ways, but his ability to get yards after the catch makes him especially useful in the short game.
What they don’t have are veteran route-runners that can hold down the WR2 role. Pittsburgh is confident in Roman Wilson and Calvin Austin III, but neither have been in that role before. The Steelers certainly could use some help in regards to their receivers. Maybe Cooper or Allen can fill that spot.
