If you were a Pittsburgh Steelers fan hoping to land either Terry McLaurin or Jauan Jennings via trade, you might want to forget about it.
Both McLaurin and Jennings are seeking new contracts from the Washington Commanders and San Francisco 49ers, respectively, according to reports.
The idea is that if they don’t get it, they could hold out and possibly get traded. In fact, Jennings has requested to be traded if he doesn’t get a new deal.
The problem with those trade scenarios is that both teams desperately need their wideouts, which makes it far more likely that neither one will be traded.
When it comes to the 49ers, two of their top wide receivers, Ricky Pearsall and Brandon Aiyuk, are both starting training camp on the PUP list.
Aiyuk is recovering from a torn ACL that ended his 2024 season early, and Pearsall is working his way back from a hamstring injury but was expected to be ready for training camp, according to head coach Kyle Shanahan.
So much for that.
When it comes to McLaurin, Washington has zero interest in trading him, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported on SportsCenter on Saturday (h/t Bleacher Report). The veteran wideout has also stated he doesn’t want to be traded.
While adding either one would offer a significant boost to the Steelers’ shaky wide receiving corps. that doesn’t have much behind DK Metcalf, it remains unlikely Pittsburgh will be able to acquire either one.
Jennings was the Niners’ most productive wide receiver in 2024 with 975 yards and is even more important to Brock Purdy and San Fran’s offense given the uncertainty surrounding both Pearsall and Aiyuk.
Because of that, On SI’s Grant Cohn believes the Niners will ultimately give Jennings a pay raise to appease him.
“He probably will get a modest pay raise just before the first padded practice of training camp,” Cohn said. “Because the 49ers can’t afford to trade him until they know Brandon Aiyuk has made a full recovery. And that process could take a year or two.”
In Washington, the Commanders need as many weapons as possible to aid budding superstar quarterback Jayden Daniels, who is looking to get Washington over the hump to a Super Bowl following an improbable playoff run in 2024.
McLaurin was Daniels’ top target in 2024 and the Commanders star has cemented himself as one of the more reliable receivers in the NFL after five-straight 1,000-yard campaigns and four straight seasons without having missed a single game.
Ahead of such an important season, we expect the Commanders will cave to their best wide receiver at some point, much like the Niners are likely to do with Jennings.
If the Steelers are indeed looking to add another wide receiver (they should be), they’re going to have to look elsewhere for help.
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