Pittsburgh Steelers miss out on another wide receiver trade

The Pittsburgh Steelers missed out on a chance to bolster their wide receiver room after the Houston Texans traded wide receiver John Metchie to the Philadelphia Eagles.

Metchie had 24 receptions for 254 yards in 2024, the best season of his young season. The Steelers may not have looked to make the move for Metchie in large part due to the standout performance of Roman Wilson.

“The Steelers haven’t signed more veteran receivers up to this point in part because they are high on Roman Wilson, who impressed both in the joint practice with the #Bucs and the game. Last night was a good sign for Pittsburgh,” ESPN insider Jeremy Fowler said on X.

Wilson played just two drives against the Jacksonville Jaguars,but in that time, he beat starting cornerback Tyson Campbell on a crosser. He finished with two receptions for 26 yards, an impressive outing for him.

On Saturday, Wilson carried that momentum into his second preseason game. He dusted quarters coverage from Jamel Dean over the top on a post route, hauling in a 42 yard connection from Mason Rudolph. Later on, he would separate on a crosser easily, gaining a chunk gain of 30 yards on another reception.

Metchie has had a rocky road throughout his short NFL career. He suffered a torn ACL in his last college game, and missed his entire rookie season while getting treatment for leukemia. In his sophomore season, Metchie was still ramping from his recovery and only got going late in the 2023 season, being buried in the Texans depth chart.

The Texans drafted two wide receivers, Jaylin Noel and Jayden Higgins, which froze Metchie out of much of his 2024 role.