The Pittsburgh Steelers have had a fun offseason in 2024. General Manager Omar Khan has made many moves, including signing Russell Wilson, Patrick Queen while also upgrading the offense by hiring Arthur Smith as the new offensive coordinator. Pittsburgh has improved in a lot of ways, but one area of concern remains receiver. After George Pickens, it is a little unclear who will be the major contributors from that position group. Due to the need, Pittsburgh has been enthralled in wide receiver trade rumors for what seems like the whole offseason.
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Steelers' George Pickens on the field during a game against the Jaguars.
There have been plenty of big names connected to the Steelers at the receiver spot. The talk of the entire offseason was Brandon Aiyuk or Deebo Samuel, DK Metcalf, and even Justin Jefferson. None of those names are very realistic for Pittsburgh.
For most of them, it would take a huge trade with a lot of draft capital given up, and then signing the player to an expensive contract. A more reasonable, yet still impactful option would be Courtland Sutton of the Denver Broncos. NFL Insider, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN, made a recent appearance on SportsCenter where he spoke about what it would cost for Sutton.
"The Denver Broncos have been speaking with Sutton and his representatives, no real progress yet, so even though they were hoping he showed up for OTAs, he very well might not be there. He is due about $13.6 million in cash this year. He'd like to see that get up to maybe in that $15, $16 million range. We'll see if they can find a sweet spot."
Sutton hasn't been to any of Denver's offseason programming, which is a common tactic for a player looking for a pay raise. He has two years left on his current deal, and would likely want to have some years tacked on to his existing contract. Overall, Sutton is looking for a $2-$3 million pay raise. If the Broncos aren't willing to meet Sutton's wishes, it makes him a prime trade candidate for the rest of the league.
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Broncos wide receiver Courtland Sutton (#14) celebrates after finding the end zone during a professional football game in Denver, CO.
Sutton is a good, but not great, receiver. He could probably complement Pickens well while instantly becoming the most experienced player in the room. If the Steelers had serious interest in Sutton, they could probably acquire him for a third-round pick, at the most. The issue isn't the draft capital they would need to give up, it's the payday they would need to give Sutton.
If Pittsburgh were to meet Sutton's contractual needs, they'd be paying him more than the organization paid Diontae Johnson. Sutton is older, and has had less production than Johnson. The obvious bright spot to Pittsburgh making a move like this is reuniting Wilson with his favorite target from his time as a Bronco.
Wilson and Sutton played 29 games together as members of the Broncos. During that time, the two combined for 119 catches which went for 1,576 yards and 12 touchdowns. The bulk of the duos success came in 2023, when Sutton caught 10 touchdowns from Wilson. It would be interesting to see if the duo could build on their success in a new city.
Steelers current starting quarterback Russell Wilson.
Steelers Open To Adding To Receiver Group
Pittsburgh has made some moves this offseason at the receiver position, but none that got fans super optimistic about the passing game. They signed a handful of players who have the ability to be a decent third option at receiver, with the best of the bunch being Van Jefferson. They also added to the position in the draft when they selected Roman Wilson with the 84th overall pick.
It will be interesting to see who can step up and make noise in the receivers room other than Pickens. If no one breaks out, Head Coach Mike Tomlin is always open to adding to his roster. If Pittsburgh's current group of receiver doesn't start to show improvement, Sutton could very well be in play for Pittsburgh.
