The Steelers have a deep wide receiving corps and could use some help elsewhere. Here are five teams that could trade for wide receiver, James Washington.
In an effort to compete for a championship under Ben Roethlisberger one last time, the Steelers did everything in their power to bring back the best roster they could in 2021. Unfortunately, with a drop in the salary cap this year due to the pandemic, Pittsburgh still lost a number of key contributors – leaving depth scarce at several positions.
One position that has not suffered this offseason is wide receiver. Despite fans and the media alike believing that JuJu Smith-Schuster was going to sign elsewhere this offseason, the wide receiver market fell flat, and JuJu elected to stay in Pittsburgh for another year.
Why the Steelers could trade James Washington
Currently, the Steelers are four deep at wide receiver with Smith-Schuster, Diontae Johnson, Chase Claypool, and James Washington. While depth is never a bad thing (especially in the event of an injury) Washington has always been a player who has been vastly underutilized for this team.
As a former second-round draft choice and the Steelers leading receiver in 2019, Pittsburgh may be able to fetch a mid-to-late-round pick for the reliable receiver via trade. They could also look to deal their fourth wide receiver in exchange for a player who could help them more at a much weaker positional group on the roster.
Though trading James Washington isn’t something the Steelers have been vocal about wanting to do, I wouldn’t discount it as a possibility altogether. Here are five teams who should be interesting in acquiring Washington in a trade: