Recently, Spotrac broke down some potential trade candidates before the NFL trade deadline. Here are four players the Steelers should consider making a move for.
The NFL trade deadline is quickly approaching and the Pittsburgh Steelers could be among the teams considering a few potential big moves. Kevin Colbert sacrificed future money and draft capital this past offseason to make sure that this team gave it one more good run, but Pittsburgh’s roster could still use some help.
Recently, Michael Ginniti of Spotrac.com broke down several trade candidates and their contract situations ahead of the November 2nd trade deadline. Though not all of these teams may be willing to part with the players suggested, the Steelers may want to look into potential trades for these four players:
Steelers should consider WR Brandin Cooks
We all know that Brandin Cooks is a very good player on a very bad football team — arguably the worst team in the league, in fact. Despite playing with a rookie quarterback, Davis Mills, Cooks has found a way to rack up 481 receiving yards and catch over 70 percent of passes thrown in his direction this year.
With the Texans going nowhere fast, they may be willing to part with the 28-year-old receiver in exchange for solid draft capital this year. According to Sportrac, the new team that would theoretically acquire Cooks in a trade would pay just $1.46 million this year. That number would jump up to $13 million in 2022 on his new team, which is still reasonable considering the quality of player they would be getting.
Cooks is still playing at an extremely high level despite the circumstances, and Ben Roethlisberger loves receivers that can get open fast. With JuJu Smith-Schuster out for the season, Cooks would give their offense a huge boost, but would likely cost them a second-round pick and potentially more in exchange.
Steelers should consider DL Fletcher Cox
This one might seem a bit unrealistic, but Spotrac suggests why Fletcher Cox could be a strong trade candidate. At 2-4 with an inexperienced quarterback, the Eagles are on the brink of a rebuild and it looks like the Dallas Cowboys are simply going to run away with the division this year.
Over the past five or six years, Fletcher Cox has been in the Cameron Heyward range of player. He’s one of the league’s best and most powerful interior defenders who would offer an immediate boost to whichever team he would potentially land on.
Meanwhile, the Steelers lost Tyson Alualu for the season early in the year and Pittsburgh doesn’t have a timetable on Stephon Tuitt’s return. Sliding Fletcher Cox between Heyward and T.J. Watt would make for a nightmare scenario for opposing quarterbacks.
Cox turns 31 years old in December, and the Eagles are already stockpiling draft capital for next season in what is sure to be a true overhaul of their roster. Cox would give the Steelers a remarkable boost on defense and acquiring him would likely only cost somewhere in the ballpark of a third-round pick. He would only be owed $597k for the remainder of the year on his new team before his salary would jump up to $17.1 million in 2022.
Steelers should consider RB Marlon Mack
We know that Najee Harris is a true workhorse back that can carry the load for the Steelers this year and moving forward. However, Pittsburgh needs to be careful not to overwork him as he is on pace for an outrageous amount of touches in 2021.
As Benny Snell and Kalen Ballage continue to be completely underwhelming as Pittsburgh’s backups at the running back position, the Steelers could seek help in the form of Marlon Mack.
Mack is a solid football player, but the Indianapolis Colts really like the depth they have on the roster right now and Jonathan Taylor has been a stud. As a result, Mack has seen just 27 total touches on offense this season and has been outpaced by Nyheim Hines.
Mack has a much better professional resume than Snell or Ballage and has proven capable of carrying the load effectively in a pinch. His contract is very reasonable as he would cost his new team just $555k this year with a bump up to only $1.4 million in 2022. Mack could likely be acquired for as little as a conditional sixth-round pick in 2023.
Steelers should consider DL Clelin Ferrell
Clelin Ferrell has never come close to living up to his lofty draft status as the former 4th overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft. However, that doesn’t mean that he’s a bad football player. Still, with some impressive performances along the Raiders defensive line this year, Ferrell has had trouble finding the football field consistently.
While he’s not the most athletic player on the edge, Ferrell is roughly 270 pounds and has the ability to rush from the interior on passing downs. This is something Pittsburgh’s defensive line is currently missing without Stephon Tuitt, Tyson Alualu, and Carlos Davis.
Ferrell holds up remarkably well at the point of attack and he graded out as the 16th-best player at his position in 2020, according to Pro Football Focus. The Steelers could use him as a chess piece that can wear multiple hats along the defensive line and rush from nearly any position.
Because he has only been used on 81 defensive snaps through 6 games this season for the Raiders, Las Vegas may be willing to part with Ferrell for a 2023 fifth-round pick. Ferrell still has two years remaining on a very manageable rookie deal.
Though some of these trade scenarios seem a bit unrealistic for the Steelers, I wouldn’t put it past Kevin Colbert to make a few unexpected moves with so much at stake this season.