Scratch another wide receiver option off the board for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Trey Palmer, who was waived by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers yesterday, was claimed by the New Orleans Saints Wednesday, remaining in the NFC South.
Steelers Depot’s Alex Kozora highlighted Palmer as a potential outside addition for the Steelers at wide receiver as they continue to “scour” the market. But the waiver process never even gave the Steelers a chance to land Palmer. The Saints claimed him with the No. 9 slot while the Steelers sat at No. 21 overall — same as their 2025 NFL Draft slots.
Selected in the sixth round of the 2023 NFL Draft by the Buccaneers, Palmer had a strong rookie season with 39 receptions for 385 yards and three touchdowns. The Nebraska product even had a touchdown catch against the Steelers in the preseason that year.
He didn’t play in the preseason this year against the Steelers, missing the game due to an injury. While he did return to the field for action in Week 3 of the preseason against the Buffalo Bills, Palmer didn’t do enough to crack Tampa Bay’s 53-man roster despite the injuries to star receiver Chris Godwin and depth piece Jalen McMillan. The latter suffered a neck injury against Pittsburgh on a catch in which he was upended by cornerback Daryl Porter Jr.
Listed at 6-foot, 192 pounds and clocking a 4.33 40-yard dash coming out of college, Palmer was a popular name in the receiver class in social media circles, but ultimately went late in the draft. He landed in a good spot and spent two full seasons with the Buccaneers, playing 1,022 snaps in 2023 and 2024 combined.
Now, he heads to New Orleans, where the Saints have made major changes to their receiver room in the last week. They traded for Devaughn Vele from the Denver Broncos and now add of Palmer for new starting QB Spencer Rattler.
It’s disappointing that Palmer wasn’t able to make it around to the Steelers in the waiver order to see what might have happened as the Steelers continue to search for wide receiver help. But options remain out there. We’ll see what happens under GM Omar Khan moving forward.
