The Pittsburgh Steelers are in an ideal spot at the moment. The team is 6-2 and in the midst of a bye week, sitting in first place in the AFC North.
The bye means the team won’t play another game before the November 10 trade deadline. This gives fans plenty of time to come up with potential trades to pitch and discuss.
One area of particular focus is at the wide receiver position. DK Metcalf has been a massive disappointment this season, though he does still lead the team with 378 receiving yards. Yet the next closest actual wide receiver to him on the leaderboard is Germie Bernard with 284 yards.
Aaron Rodgers has relied upon Jaylen Warren, Darnell Washington, and Pat Freiermuth to help pick up the slack. However, the 6-2 start could mean the Steelers want to make a splash and pair Rodgers with a top talent in his final NFL season.
One longtime Steelers insider shut down any optimism of such an addition.
Steelers Insider Shuts Down Potential WR Trade
Gerry Dulac covers the Steelers for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and recently took on a series of questions during the bye week.
He was directly asked about the chances of the Steelers trading for a receiver in exchange for draft capital. His response?
“They are not doing that,” he wrote. “They already did that when they traded for Pittman.”
Dulac is of course referring to Michael Pittman Jr., who has only appeared in three games thus far for the Steelers. He has seven receptions for 89 yards and is currently out on injured reserve.
The Steelers traded for Pittman back in March and expected him to be a top contributor alongside Metcalf. That can still happen once he returns, but the early returns are not promising.
Banking on Current Roster
The Steelers could always find the perfect deal and prove Dulac wrong. However, the longtime reporter’s statement does seem to indicate the 6-2 Steelers have faith that players like Metcalf, Pittman, and even Roman Wilson will step up during the second half of the season.
Both Pittman and Wilson are on IR, so their individual returns can be viewed as a type of late-season acquisition.
Bernard has shown flashes as of late and it appears the true strength of this offense lies with Warren and the running game.
Steelers fans are understandably impatient given the team hasn’t won a playoff game since the 2016 season. The front office may simply decide the impending return of someone like Pittman is a better option than a trade at this point in time.
Steelers Insider Shares Verdict on Potential WR Trade