For the past two offseasons, Pittsburgh Steelers fans have been dying to upgrade the wide receiver position, either through a trade, free agency, the NFL Draft, or a combination of means. But after the Steelers did little to address the position in 2024, their efforts to improve the wide receiver position grew even smaller this offseason.
On Tuesday, the front office made a move to add a wide receiver to their roster. But don't get your hopes high. This is about the lowest-level signing general manager Omar Khan could conjure up. As Steelers OTAs began, the team signed former Colorado and Arizona wide receiver, Montana Lemonious-Craig, Teresa Varley of Steelers.com reported.
If the name doesn't sound familiar, it's because you've never heard of him before.
Despite being a five-year college player, Lemonious-Craig never earned more than 28 receptions, 359 receiving yards, or three touchdowns in a season, even after playing 47 games. In his final college season, the wide receiver earned just 17 receptions for 172 yards and a touchdown in 11 games at Arizona.
To add salt to the wound, Lemonious-Craig is a less-than-stellar athlete. After failing to receive an NFL Combine invite, Lemonious-Craig ran a 4.54 at his Arizona Pro Day while recording a dismal 9'9'' broad jump and an unspectacular 4.34 3-cone drill. Collectively, his athletic testing earned him a 5.57 Relative Athletic Score.
The Pittsburgh Steelers' latest roster move proves they are content with their WR room
When the Pittsburgh Steelers traded George Pickens to the Dallas Cowboys on May 7, many fans assumed the Steelers would follow up this trade with a move for a veteran wide receiver to pair with DK Metcalf. However, it's becoming increasingly clear that Metcalf was meant to be Pickens' replacement. The problem is that this team is right back to where they were a season ago, with just one proven option in the receiving game.
Instead of going after an established receiver who could knock a player like Robert Woods off the roster, the Steelers elected to add a camp body to their 90-man roster. This seems harsh, but barring something miraculous, that's all Montana Lemonious-Craig will be.
With the Steelers putting the finishing touches on their roster during OTAs, it looks like Roman Wilson, Calvin Austin, and Robert Woods are set to battle it out for the WR2 spot in Pittsburgh this year. All of these receivers would be best utilized as WR3 options (much like the group we saw last year), but one will eventually win the role by default.
Outside of an Aaron Rodgers signing, we aren't expecting any groundbreaking roster decisions by the Pittsburgh Steelers between now and the start of the season. Fans have been screaming from the rooftops for wide receiver help, but the latest signing was the last thing anyone had in mind.