Steelers Likely In The Midst Of A Deep Standoff That Is Holding Up The Trade Market

The Pittsburgh Steelers and every other organization around the NFL is patiently awaiting the 4 PM ET trade deadline on Tuesday. This is the last chance for organizations to put the finishing touches on their roster from other rosters around the league via trade, as free agency and waivers are still open throughout the rest of the regular season. Around this time of year, franchises are split into two different categories, the buyers and the sellers. The Steelers are certainly buyers, but it is hard to imagine the team would be very aggressive in trying to bring in some serious talent. 

The Steelers have already patched up the safety position by trading for Kyle Dugger from the New England Patriots ahead of their Week 9 matchup, but fans want to see General Manager Omar Khan do some work on the offensive side of the ball. It is clear Pittsburgh needs some more weapons, especially at wide receiver. There are a few players at the position around the league that could be moved, but asking prices are too high according to insider Tom Pelissero during an appearance on Good Morning Football, which is creating a standoff between wide receiver-needy teams and teams that could potentially move on from players.

"We've talked a lot about Jaylen Waddle," Pelissero said. "He's not gonna come cheap from the Dolphins. They're gonna want a first-round pick and more to consider moving Waddle. You've got the likes of Calvin Ridley and Rashid Shaheed and Jakobi Meyers. My understanding is there's about a half dozen teams that are in the wide receiver market. The price on all those kinds of second-tier wide receivers, if you will, has just been too high. There's not a lot of teams wanting to bring in a player for, let's say, a third-round pick on what potentially could be a rental type of contract."

Jaylen Waddle of the Miami Dolphins is probably the best wide receiver that could get moved at the deadline, but he would cost an arm and a leg. He is already under contract for quite some time, and Miami would certainly want to move him for significant draft capital in an attempt to jumpstart its rebuild. The other wide receivers available are not as talented as Waddle, and many have some contract questions that will need to be answered.

Jakobi Meyers of the Las Vegas Raiders is probably the most likely wide receiver to get moved due to his public trade request ahead of the 2025 season and the fact that he has recently doubled down on it. However, he is a free agent after the 2025 season. That diminishes his value when it comes to any return for the Raiders, as teams don't want to give up a good pick when they may only get the receiver for half of a season. 

Similar arguments could be made for the two wide receivers for the New Orleans Saints. Rashid Shaheed is a free agent after the 2025 season, and Chris Olave is only under contract through 2026. 

These contractual issues are hard to deal with at the trade deadline, and it could result in a lot of wide receivers staying right where they are at.

Steelers' Most Likely Addition Is Clear

If Pittsburgh were to add a wide receiver, it would probably be Calvin Ridley of the Tennessee Titans. The Titans should not want to much for him as he is clearly not a part of their future plans, and his contract is very tradable. He is under contract through the 2027 season, but there is an easy out after the 2025 season that would see a team like the Steelers take on $16 million in dead cap. 

However, it is important to note that Khan got the last two years of Dugger's contract wiped out, so that could be a possibility again with Ridley.

What do you think about the current outlook of the trade deadline for the Steelers? Let us know in the comments below!

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