The Pittsburgh Steelers are officially back in the market for a wide receiver after the team decided to unload George Pickens in a trade with the Dallas Cowboys.
Just when we thought the Steelers had fixed their need at the position with the trade for DK Metcalf this offseason, the team now finds itself back in the same boat it was in all of last season, when general manager Omar Khan was looking for an upgrade across from Pickens.
With Pickens now gone, the Steelers do not have an adequate No. 2 option on the roster behind Metcalf. With that in mind, Steelers Wire’s Curt Popejoy proposed Pittsburgh sign wideout Amari Cooper in free agency.
“Cooper’s asking price is probably a little higher than the first three but the longer he sits on the market the more affordable he becomes. Cooper is a bit past his prime but still very talented,” Popejoy wrote.
Cooper played out the final year of his $100 million contract in 2024. He spent part of the year with the Cleveland Browns before he was traded to the Buffalo Bills. In all, Cooper finished with 547 receiving yards, the lowest output of his career.
That has led to concerns about a possible decline as Cooper prepares to turn 31, but it is fair to point out that he had a terrible quarterback situation in Cleveland, and a midseason transition to a new team is never easy.
Before his down year, Cooper was one of the more reliable weapons in the NFL. The five-time Pro Bowler posted seven 1,000-yard seasons over nine years, and he’s only one year removed from a career-best 1,250-yard showing.
Even a diminished Cooper would amount to an upgrade for the Steelers, who are looking at a wide receivers room that includes Metcalf, Calvin Austin, Robert Woods, 2024 draft pick Roman Wilson, Ben Skowronek and Scotty Miller.
The Steelers are currently sitting with $31.6 million in cap space, but some of that money will go to Aaron Rodgers if he signs. And, the Steelers will need some wiggle room for in-season moves, which brings that total down further.
That means the Steelers won’t be able to spend a ton on Cooper, who is projected by Spotrac to land two-year, $37.8 million deal. However, given his age, what he did last season, and it being so late in free agency, we would suspect Cooper is going to garner a one-year deal for more than half that annual average.
At that price, it would be a no-brainer for the Steelers to bring Cooper in as the starting option across from Metcalf on the outside. But the Steelers can’t be too picky considering the precarious situation they’re currently in.
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