The Pittsburgh Steelers are once again eyeing veteran wide receiver Gabe Davis. Gerry Dulac of The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported that Davis is having a medical follow-up with the Steelers on Tuesday before flying to Buffalo to meet with the Bills. And if Pittsburgh can help it, they won't want Davis leaving the city without a contract.
Davis may be one of the top remaining wide receivers still on the market, and the Steelers have a need at the position. But even though it feels like the stars are aligning for Pittsburgh to sign the veteran wideout, taking on Davis doesn't come without risk.
This risk is hardly financial. Some NFL experts have predicted that Davis could sign for as low as the veteran minimum. This would make releasing him possible if things didn't work out. However, the risk is potentially capping the team's offensive upside with a washed-up wide receiver instead of rolling the dice on a young player with more upside.
The Pittsburgh Steelers can't risk the development of Roman Wilson by signing Gabe Davis
If the Pittsburgh Steelers wind up signing Gabe Davis, it won't be because of his special teams ability. The big wideout has only logged five special teams snaps over the past three seasons and just 70 in entering his sixth year in the NFL. This means that the team isn't looking at him as just a depth option at the bottom of the roster—they're considering him for a big role on offense.
In theory, you can't have too many receivers in the same room. However, the addition of Davis could come at the risk of stunting Roman Wilson's development... and that's not something we want to see happen.
We've seen this scenario play out before. Over the past three years, the Steelers have experimented with washed-up veterans like Allen Robinson II, Van Jefferson, and Mike Williams. Each of these fliers on once-good NFL receivers ended exactly like we thought it would—in a whole lot of disappointment.
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Davis has already failed physicals from other teams, and he's coming off the worst season of his career. In 10 games in 2024 with the Jacksonville Jaguars, Davis recorded just 20 catches on 42 targets for 239 yards and two touchdowns. The veteran earned a catch rate of just 47.7 percent while averaging a dismal 5.7 yards per target. Jaguars quarterbacks combined for a 61.5 passer rating when targeting Davis.
Instead of hoping that Davis' medicals check out and he returns to the player he was in 2022 with the Buffalo Bills, the Pittsburgh Steelers should look forward to the future of the team with a player who could still help them more in the present than Davis.
Roman Wilson had a powerful finish to Steelers training camp, and he's looking like the receiver the team drafted him to be. The 2024 third-round pick has been putting his impressive speed and quickness on display while showcasing strong hands in traffic.
Even if Davis comes at the veteran minimum, his mere presence on the roster could force Wilson and Calvin Austin III to take a backseat. If the Pittsburgh Steelers wind up inking him to a deal, he had better look like the Gabe Davis of old.
If not, this team is going to repeat the same mistakes they've been making over the past several years by valuing washed-up wide receivers over young talent.