With a potential need for another high-end receiver and having some cap space to work with, along with a projected boatload of 2026 draft picks, the Pittsburgh Steelers find themselves speculated about as a potential destination for Washington Commanders wide receiver Terry McLaurin.
McLaurin, who requested a trade last week while in a contract dispute with the Commanders, is the latest big name to come up at the receiver position as a possible addition for the Steelers, though Pittsburgh already has one big-ticket contract at the position and seems keen on seeing what Calvin Austin III and Roman Wilson can provide this season.
That won’t stop trade speculation, though.
On Monday morning, The Athletic proposed a trade package between the Steelers and Commanders as one of five landing spots for the star receiver.
That trade package proposal? Wide receiver Roman Wilson and a 2026 third-round pick to the Commanders for McLaurin.
“If the Steelers want to give Aaron Rodgers the best chance to make a run in what could be his final season, the biggest bet they could make would be a dynamic receiving threat behind DK Metcalf,” The Athletic’s Mike DeFabo writes. “For more than a year, there have been questions surrounding the WR2 position. Right now, the team seems interested in seeing how two receivers on rookie contracts — Calvin Austin III and Roman Wilson — fill that role. McLaurin would be an instant and massive upgrade, signaling the Steelers really are ‘all in’ for Rodgers.
“The veteran WR also could help at the beginning of a rookie QB window on a short, two-year extension worth $30 million per year.”
While the Steelers have some cap space to work with, McLaurin is seeking north of $30 million per year, and reports indicate he wants more than what Metcalf signed with the Steelers for. He’s in the final year of his own three-year, $71 million deal extension he signed in 2022. Since then, the WR market has exploded, with Cincinnati’s Ja’Marr Chase resetting the market at $40 million per year.
Adding another wide receiver making more than $30 million per year, especially to a team that has visions of running the football a ton and playing a lot of 12, 13 and maybe even some 04 personnel seems unlikely and unnecessary.
But after an offseason in which the Steelers under GM Omar Khan were rather aggressive on the trade market, nothing can be ruled out. There hasn’t been any significant reporting linking the Steelers to McLaurin, but any time a big name becomes available, especially at receiver, the Steelers can never truly be ruled out under Khan.
The only real problem with DeFabo’s proposed package is the inclusion of a 2026 third-round pick. Khan has already stated that he doesn’t want to move any picks from that year with the draft in Pittsburgh and the Steelers seemingly loading up to move up for a top quarterback.
The Steelers might very well need to add another veteran receiver during training camp or the preseason — Gabe Davis remains available — but it seems very unlikely that they swing big for McLaurin and subquently pay him No. 1 WR money, tying up a great deal of cap space in two receivers.
