NFL Insider: Steelers Could Make Rare Trade Inside AFC North In-Season

The Pittsburgh Steelers have reached the point where asking an AFC North rival for help no longer sounds quite as ridiculous as it should. Three receivers are unavailable, the trade deadline is getting closer and Pittsburgh needs someone who can enter an NFL huddle without requiring the offense to be rebuilt around him. The interesting part is that one division opponent may have exactly that kind of player sitting much farther down its passing-game food chain than anyone expected.

That player is Jerry Jeudy, and Aditi Kinkhabwala believes the Cleveland Browns could actually be willing to discuss him with Pittsburgh. Her reasoning is not built around Cleveland suddenly deciding Jeudy cannot play. It is almost the opposite. The Browns have simply found other receivers they prefer feeding, leaving a former Pro Bowler in the strange position of being useful without being essential.

During a recent discussion, Kinkhabwala pointed to Browns General Manager Andrew Berry's history of making deals inside the division as a reason Pittsburgh should not dismiss the possibility before picking up the phone.

“Andrew Berry has obviously made trades within the division when he feels strongly about somebody… I don’t think that Andrew Berry is going to sit here and say, ‘Ooh, I can’t help the Steelers.’ And part of that is because I don’t think that he thinks Jerry Jeudy helps the Steelers that significantly,” Kinkhabwala said.

That last sentence is the fun part because a general manager does not have to believe a player is bad to decide he is safe to trade. He only has to believe the player will not hurt him enough later to regret the return. Cleveland already proved Berry can stomach that calculation inside the AFC North when it traded its former starting quarterback to Cincinnati during the 2025 season.

Jeudy's current production makes the conversation even easier to understand. Through five games, he has eight catches for 81 yards and no touchdowns. Cleveland's unofficial depth chart still lists him as a starter, but the ball has told a different story. His eight receptions are a long way from the 90 catches and 1,229 yards he produced during his Pro Bowl season in 2024.

Kinkhabwala does not believe that drop means Jeudy suddenly forgot how to play receiver.

“Jerry Jeudy obviously is not one of the first, second, or third targets there. Maybe — or fourth… So maybe there’s an opportunity… Jeudy did have a nice camp. I do think that those two young rookies pushed Jeudy in some way. So it’s not that he is washed. It’s not that he cannot play. He’s just an odd man out,” Kinkhabwala said.

That description should interest Pittsburgh more than a big-name receiver demanding 10 targets immediately. The Steelers already have DK Metcalf as the player defenses have to locate first, and Germie Bernard just gave the offense 80 receiving yards in his first start. When Michael Pittman Jr., Roman Wilson and Ben Skowronek are healthy again, the room will become crowded quickly.

Pittsburgh does not need another receiver who requires the passing game to revolve around him. It needs somebody capable of functioning when the depth chart looks normal and helping immediately while it does not.

That is where Jeudy becomes a much cleaner fit than some of the more glamorous names floating around the receiver trade market. He has played outside and in the slot, has a 1,200-yard season on his résumé and is under contract beyond 2026. Cleveland signed him to a three-year extension after acquiring him from Denver in 2024.

There is risk attached. Jeudy's 2025 production fell to 50 catches for 602 yards before this season's even steeper decline, so Pittsburgh would be buying the possibility that circumstance has depressed his value rather than discovering a player in permanent decline. His 2024 tape says there is still a useful receiver somewhere in the equation. His last 22 regular-season games say nobody should pay for the 2024 version as if it is guaranteed to reappear.

That distinction should drive General Manager Omar Khan's approach. If Cleveland wants premium draft capital because Jeudy once made a Pro Bowl, Pittsburgh should move on. The Steelers have too many future roster decisions to pay a nostalgia tax on someone else's receiver. If the Browns view him as Kinkhabwala described — an odd man out who can be moved for reasonable value — Khan should be much more aggressive.

Steelers Should Be Buying The Opportunity, Not The Name

Jeudy makes sense precisely because he does not need to arrive as a savior. Metcalf still occupies the top spot. Bernard has earned the chance to keep growing. Pittman eventually returns from injured reserve, and Wilson and Skowronek are expected back sooner. Pittsburgh's problem is surviving the space between now and then without asking practice-squad elevations and a rookie to cover every missing snap.

Jeudy could stabilize that space while remaining useful afterward. That is a better roster fit than trading meaningful capital for a receiver who becomes difficult to keep involved once everyone is healthy.

My view is that Pittsburgh should make this call before chasing the splashier options. A division trade will always feel uncomfortable, but Cleveland has already demonstrated that discomfort does not automatically kill a deal. More importantly, Jeudy's value may currently sit in the exact range where Pittsburgh should be shopping: accomplished enough to help, diminished enough to acquire without mortgaging anything important.

Kinkhabwala called him the odd man out. For the Steelers, that may be the first thing about their receiver situation that lines up perfectly.

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