Kaboly Gives Timeline For When Steelers Might Add Broad Receiver

The Pittsburgh Steelers and general manager Omar Khan didn’t want to have a repeat of 2024 when it came to their wide receiver room. And for a little while, it looked like they wouldn’t. When they traded for WR DK Metcalf, Steelers fans everywhere dreamed of seeing Metcalf and WR George Pickens terrorizing defenses deep.

Then the Steelers traded Pickens to the Dallas Cowboys, meaning the Steelers still don’t have a bona fide solution at WR2 prior to training camp. They did bring in veteran free agent Gabe Davis for a visit early in June. But according to Ian Rapoport, Davis wasn’t fully healed from the injury issues he dealt with last year in Jacksonville.

Will the Steelers turn to another current free agent? Insider Mark Kaboly thinks the Steelers will be much more patient than that.

“What it looks like now is that they’re waiting until the end of camp here,” Kaboly said when he joined the PM Team on 93.7 The Fan on Friday. “That’s what it looks like. End of training camp, someone gets cut.”

There are pros and cons to this approach. Sometimes, teams cut veterans due to surprising performances by younger players. You might be able to get someone who can contribute at a reduced cost who you otherwise would have to trade for.

However, acquiring a wide receiver after training camp means they’ll be much farther behind than if you signed or traded for them beforehand. They’ll have missed all those practices. You cannot expect a wide receiver to be ready to execute the full offense right away. You’re waiting for him to get up to speed or asking very little of him to start the year.

The Steelers must not feel all that great about the current crop of free agents. WR Keenan Allen has already made it clear he has no desire to come to Pittsburgh. The Steelers are in no rush to sign Davis, whether that’s due to the injuries or otherwise.

Hopefully, either Calvin Austin III or Roman Wilson will make this a moot point in training camp. Otherwise, the Steelers are going to struggle at the wide receiver position, at least to start 2025. But it sounds like Khan and head coach Mike Tomlin are willing to be patient with the wide receiver position right now.