Steelers Making Calls About Potential WR Trades, Nearly Had Deal For Christian Kirk Before Injury

Adam Schefter of ESPN reports that the Steelers were in the process of trying to get a trade in place for Jaguars WR Christian Kirk.

According to Schefter, there was a ‘reasonable chance” that Kirk was going to end up in Pittsburgh. However, he broke his collarbone last week and will now miss the remainder of the season.

The Steelers have long been in the market for receiver help and had been linked to Brandon Aiyuk and Davante Adams at different times.

A league source tells Schefter that the Steelers are “not giving up” in their pursuit of a receiver before the deadline.

In fact, Pittsburgh has reportedly been making calls to teams about receivers including the Jets’ Mike Williams and the Panthers’ Adam Thielen.

Schefter adds that there are other teams in the mix for receiver help.

Williams, 30, was selected with the No. 7 overall pick by the Chargers out of Clemson in the 2017 NFL draft. He was entering the final year of a four-year contract worth $19.75 million which included a signing bonus of $12.50 million when the Chargers picked up his fifth-year option. 

Williams made a base salary of $15.68 million in 2021 under the fifth-year option. He was in line to be an unrestricted free agent in 2022 when he signed a three-year, $60 million extension with the Chargers. 

He was due base salaries of $12 million and $17 million over the final two years of the deal when Los Angeles cut him loose. The Jets signed him to a one-year deal worth up to $15 million. 

In 2024, Williams has appeared in nine games for the Jets and caught 12 passes on 21 targets for 166 yards receiving and no touchdowns.

Thielen, 34, wound up signing on with the Vikings as an undrafted free agent out of Minnesota State-Mankato back in 2013. He spent his rookie season on the Vikings’ practice squad before returning to the team on a future/reserve contract the following year.

Minnesota brought Thielen back for the 2015 season on a one-year exclusive rights deal before signing him to a four-year, $19.240 million contract that included $11 million guaranteed in 2017. 

Thielen was set to make base salaries of $5.85 million and $5.35 million before agreeing to a four-year extension in 2019 worth as much as $73 million. The Vikings opted to release back in 2023. 

From there, Thielen signed a three-year, $25 million contract with Carolina.

In 2024, Thielen has appeared in three games for the Panthers and caught eight passes for 109 yards receiving and one touchdown.