The Pittsburgh Steelers are 4-2 as the team prepares to head to Paris to take on the New Orleans Saints in Week 7. The start to the season has been rocky but the team has looked decent at times. The record is good right now, although the entire AFC North is 4-2 aside from the Cincinnati Bengals who had a bye week in Week 6. The Steelers will look to win their third game in a row, and if the team can come back to the United States with a record of 5-2, it might be time for General Manager Omar Khan to start looking at trade possibilities.
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Steelers’ Omar Khan looks on at Acrisure Stadium ahead of a 2026 preseason game against the Green Bay Packers.
The Steelers have some clear weaknesses on the roster that should probably be addressed, with the top need being wide receiver. Michael Pittman Jr. was brought over during the 2026 offseason, but he is dealing with a foot injury that had him placed on Injured Reserve (IR) and there is a chance he might not return this season. Roman Wilson is also on IR, while Ben Skowronek is dealing with a soft tissue injury. The Steelers need more experienced wide receivers that Aaron Rodgers can trust, because Brandon Johnson and Brandon Smith were the third and fourth wide receivers on Sunday, and he did not target either of them once.
Beat writer Mark Kaboly joined 93.7 The Fan on Monday morning, and he was speaking about how thin the wide receiver room is. He spoke about Khan needing to make a trade, and he brought up a name that might be interesting.
"They're going to have to go find somebody," Kaboly said. "I just don't know what level of wide receiver they'll be able to find. You going to find somebody out there that you can plug and play? Probably not. Unless somebody is desperate. Tennessee's really desperate, I don't know, is [Calvin] Ridley on the market? I don't know. His salary this year would not be that bad, his dead money next year wouldn't be terrible either. Do you want to go to that degree?"
Calvin Ridley is a name that has been connected to the Steelers a ton in recent years as the team has found themselves under-staffed at the wide receiver position repeatedly. He is currently on a struggling Tennessee Titans team, and there is reason to believe that the franchise would be fine with trading him away.
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Titans’ Calvin Ridley makes a catch during training camp at the Vanderbilt Health Football Center in 2026.
The Titans are 1-5 through the first six weeks of the season, and it is clear that the team is not going to improve by much. Ridley is technically a backup for Tennessee, and he has only played 53 percent of the offensive snaps in 2026. He has caught just five passes for 81 yards through six games, which shows that the organization would probably be fine with moving him. He should not cost much in terms of draft capital due to his current contract, which he signed back during the 2024 offseason. It was a deal for four-years and it was worth $92 million.
The Steelers could take on Ridley's salary for the rest of the 2026 season, and he would only cost $7.5 million in dead cap if the organization decides to move on from him after the season is over.
Steelers Might Be Better Off Trying Internal Options
It is very clear that it takes a lot for Rodgers to be able to trust a wide receiver. Just because Ridley was an All-Pro once it does not mean that the two would be on the same page immediately. Ridley is also not the athlete he once was, which makes taking this contract on and losing a pick seem like it isn't worth it. Pittsburgh might be better continuing to work with Smith and Johnson, while it would be nice to see the coaching staff try to involve Kaden Wetjen on the offensive side of the ball.
What do you think about Pittsburgh potentially trading for Ridley? Let me know on X, @brogannoey!
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