After trading away George Pickens, the Pittsburgh Steelers ended up with yet another big hole within the receiving corps. As Organized Team Activities (OTAs) start up soon, the team might want to hurry up and find a quality starter, so they don't have the exact same situation they had all throughout the 2024 offseason. They are reportedly interested in trading for receiver Chris Olave, but at best, those conversations are at the very beginning stages of negotiations. There are a lot more talks that need to get done if there is any hope of acquiring the young star.
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Saints wide receiver Chris Olave celebrates after scoring a touchdown in New Orleans.
While making an appearance on 93.7 The Fan, Mark Kaboly was asked about the Olave situation. He does not like the idea of trading a quality pick to acquire the wideout, especially with other options available.
"Why not try to get [Amari] Cooper? Why don't you go get [Keenan] Allen?" Kaboly asked. "Maybe they don't want to come here; maybe they're looking for a better option, but if I'm going potential third-round pick, maybe fourth or somewhere in that range or getting Amari Cooper for one year for three million - I'm just throwing that out there - I would take Amari Cooper."
If the team does like someone like Amari Cooper, it makes sense to go out and get him on a cheap deal to provide a veteran presence in the receiver room. There are pros and cons to all of this, and Pittsburgh has to weigh all potential options carefully.
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Cleveland Browns WR Amari Cooper against the Steelers in 2022.
Steelers Have Pros For Potentially Signing Amari Cooper
The first and most obvious reason is that Cooper would cost very little in terms of cap hit, and the Steelers would not give up any draft capital. There would still be loads of picks ready to go in 2026, especially if Pittsburgh wants to use some of that to trade up in the first round and select a future franchise quarterback. Picking the free agent would give them more flexibility in that regard.
On top of that, someone like Calvin Austin III or Roman Wilson could have a breakout season. If that happens, there is a lot more flexibility in the lineup to demote a starter to more of a depth role to allow a younger player to get his chance to show off what he can do with a starter's workload. Of course, having that veteran mentor in the locker room could help those wideouts develop.
Steelers' Have Pros For Potentially Trading For Chris Olave
Sometimes, you get what you pay for. Cooper had numerous career-worsts during the 2024 season, so he likely wouldn't be a key contributor. Meanwhile, Olave is entering the fourth year of his rookie contract. If it costs a mid-round pick to get someone as talented and young as he is, it makes sense to do it, even with his concussion risk.
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Saints' Chris Olave runs a route during an away game in 2023.
Olave's cap hit isn't even bad. He will cost roughly $3.3 million for the Steelers if they trade for him, along with his fifth-year option in 2026, which is just shy of $15.5 million. If Olave can reach his ceiling in Pittsburgh, nobody on the team will care about losing a third-round pick. You can't go bargain-bin hunting for key contributors all the time. Sometimes, you just need to pay up.
At the end of the day, it's all about risk versus reward. Is Olave's high upside really worth the risk of giving up a quality draft pick to deal with his numerous concussions? Is Cooper's veteran experience worth the risk of his on-field performance continuing to regress? Kaboly clearly believes that letter, but the Steelers need to figure that out, and quickly. If not, everyone will have deja vu because of 2024.
What do you think about the Olave versus Cooper debate? What would you rather do? Let us know in the comments or on X at @Steelers_ChrisB.
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