The Pittsburgh Steelers are not giving their all when it comes to finding a trade for a wide receiver.
The Steelers re-entered the wide receiver market not long after seemingly shoring up the position with the DK Metcalf trade. The decision to jettison George Pickens to Dallas has left Pittsburgh short, just like they were last year.
Reports suggest general manager Omar Khan is working the phones looking for a new playmaker, whether that be a wide receiver or tight end, and he has even met with veteran wideout Gabriel Davis.
However, the Steelers aren't exactly being aggressive, at least when it comes to a trade. CBS Sports' Jonathan Jones reports that Khan is trying to lowball teams in trade talks.
"They're going to have to get another pass-catcher," Jones said on the Pushing the Pile podcast. "I don't know if that's wide receiver and I don't know if that's tight end. They're going to have to get a pass-catcher, and they know that.
"They've been low-balling teams when they make a call," Jones added. "'Hey, how about this guy? No, we're not doing that for a conditional sixth-round pick.' They'll get there."
It's normal for a general manager to try and get a player for as little as possible and then work his way up, but from the sounds of it, Khan is going the extra mile here, which could turn potential trade partners off.
The Steelers had better "get there" as Jones says or they could run into the same situation as 2024, when they clearly did not have enough firepower in the passing game, which no doubt impacted the offense negatively.
Metcalf is a strong No. 1 option, but there is no legit No. 2 on the roster. We'd feel more comfortable with Calvin Austin being a No. 3, Robert Woods is not the same receiver he was in his younger years, and while Roman Wilson has looked good this offseason, there's no telling if that will translate into actual games.
Rodgers might be able to better mask lackluster wide receivers than Russell Wilson or Justin Fields were able to, but there's only so much he can do to make up for not having reliable pass-catchers. And, that's even more true at this stage of his career.
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