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:
New England Patriots
It wasn’t all that long ago that the New England Patriots had one of the most dominant wide receiver groups in the league. Now, this unit is an absolute train wreck, and it shows. Last year, quarterback Cam Newton had a terrible time connecting with his wide receivers. As a result, he managed a dismal 8 touchdown passes in 15 games last season.
To make matters worse, their only reliable option in the passing game, Julian Edelman, retired this offseason after being unable to stay healthy in 2020. N’Keal Harry is a former first-round draft choice who has been often injured during his first two NFL seasons and has been a disappointment when he has been on the field.
Outside of Harry, and newly acquired free-agent wideout, Nelson Agholor, this team barely has a receiver worth mentioning. Jakobi Meyers was serviceable last year, but this team needs more receivers who can win down the field.
James Washington can offer exactly that for the Patriots. It would hardly be the first time Bill Belichick would be interested in acquiring a receiver from the Steelers – a position he can’t seem to draft. Washington would have a chance to be a consistent weekly contributor for the Patriots. In exchange, New England could offer a mid-round pick or perhaps a cornerback who could stick on Pittsburgh’s roster.
Houston Texans
I give Houston Texans fans a lot of credit. It would be really hard to stick with your team after management has driven it into the ground over the past few years. In addition, sexual assault allegations against quarterback Deshaun Watson make his future with the team murky at best.
To be quite frank, the Texans are a bad team in a terrible situation entering the 2021 season. While it’s too early to tell them to throw in the towel, they have a good chance to be the NFL’s worst team by default this year. Tyrod Taylor will likely hold down the fort at quarterback to begin the season, and he will be doing so with virtually no help.
Currently, Brandin Cooks is the only reliable receiving option worth mentioning on the team. Though Keke Coutee and Chris Conley have flashed in the past, their time in the spotlight was very short-lived. This group is so bad that even the dreaded Donte Moncrief has a chance to make the roster this year.
While James Washington isn’t going to elevate the Texans to Super Bowl contenders, he could easily emerge as the number two wide receiver in Houston, and the Texans could give him a reasonably-priced extension to keep him around long-term. This franchise is bad, but Washington could help make it slightly less bad this year. The Steelers could take a future pick or a depth player in exchange.
Los Angeles Chargers
Here’s a team that makes a lot of sense as a trade partner for James Washington. The Los Angeles Chargers have a promising young quarterback who just lost a threat in the passing game with Hunter Henry’s departure in free agency. Keenan Allen is a very good slot option while Mike Williams and Jalen Guyton can help win down the field.
Outside of these players, however, the Chargers could really use some depth in the passing game. After attempting to fix the offensive line, the next thing the team should do is surround their franchise quarterback with as many weapons as possible. If Washington were on the table, they would have no reason not to call.
Washington is a much better fit with a team like the Chargers with their vertical passing game, and he is capable of making plays at each level on the field. Though he probably wouldn’t be a 1,000-yard receiver in Los Angeles, he could help make the offense a little bit better. For a team that has a chance to be contenders this year, that’s all you could ask for.
Additionally, the Chargers are set to have over $51 million in effective cap space next season, so locking Washington up to an extension would be easy to do.
Green Bay Packers
Despite Aaron Rodger’s wishes, the Green Bay Packers have done nothing to add wide receiver help for the MVP quarterback since drafting Davante Adams back in 2014. While Adams is clearly one of the best receivers in the league, there is no reliable option outside of him.
Somehow, Rodgers still managed to make it work en route to a remarkable 2020 season that included MVP honors and a First-Team All-Pro appearance. However, he could use someone else he could count on to make plays. Most believe that the ‘success’ of players like Marquez Valdez-Scantling and Allen Lazard has much more to do with Rodgers than the quality of wide receiver.
In Green Bay, Washington would have a chance to compete for a role as the team’s number two receiver across from Adams. With much more opportunity and a future Hall of Fame quarterback throwing to him, Washington could give the team the receiving threat it has been missing since players like Jordy Nelson and Randall Cobb left the team.
Washington is a player who could be upgraded eventually, but with a very dry wide receiver market, the Packers should at least inquire about the Steelers receiver if he was made available for trade.
Atlanta Falcons
The Atlanta Falcons aren’t ready to start their rebuild just yet. After Matt Ryan’s recent contract extension, the team really can’t get out of his deal until the 2023 offseason without taking some substantial dead money hits.
Because of this, the Falcons are looking to stay competitive with Ryan at the helm, and a good 2021 draft could prove to bolster their roster this season. Though the team landed generational tight end prospect Kyle Pitts with the 4th overall pick this year, they also traded All-Pro receiver, Julio Jones, to the Tennessee Titans.
Trading for a player like James Washington isn’t even going to begin to make up for the loss of Julio, but it’s a step in the right direction. Calvin Ridley was one of the best number two receivers in the league last year, and he could be a legitimate number one threat for Atlanta, but the depth behind him is atrocious.
Despite 10 receivers currently on their roster, none of them have a proven body of work in the NFL, and Russell Gage is the only wideout outside of Ridley with any sort of NFL production. Washington could easily become the number two or three receivers for the Falcons and give Matt Ryan an intermediate and deep threat next season.
It’s unlikely that James Washington would actually be dealt before the season. However, with other young receivers on the roster soon in need of contract extensions, the Steelers have just one year left with Washington. Trading him now could make sense, and these five teams should come calling.