The Pittsburgh Steelers have been very busy during the 2024 NFL offseason revamping their offense. Arthur Smith was hired to take over as offensive coordinator and the team will have an entirely new quarterback depth chart to work with.
Kenny Pickett, a 2022 first-round pick out of Pittsburgh, was traded to the Philadelphia Eagles. Mitchell Trubisky was released earlier in the offseason and landed with the Buffalo Bills. Mason Rudolph was a free agent and opted to sign with the Tennessee Titans.
Replacing them will be veteran Russell Wilson, who was signed after being released by the Denver Broncos and Justin Fields. The Steelers acquired Fields from the Chicago Bears, who are set to use the No. 1 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft on a quarterback.
Another major move the Steelers made was trading wide receiver Diontae Johnson to the Carolina Panthers. That has created a huge void in the team’s lineup as they have yet to acquire a player who would fill Johnson’s role on the offense.
Pittsburgh has made a few signings at wide receiver, bringing in Quez Watkins, Coradrelle Patterson and Van Jefferson. Many people have hypothesized that the Steelers would look to fill the void in the 2024 NFL Draft, but they could be looking to make a huge splash.
As shared by MLFootball on X, via the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the Steelers have been aggressively pursuing a trade with the San Francisco 49ers for Brandon Aiyuk. Aiyuk, who is seeking a lucrative extension, reportedly asked the 49ers for a trade.
While Aiyuk’s agent has denied that a trade request has been made, his name has come up in trade talks. Wide receiver-needy teams have called the 49ers but they have reportedly not engaged in any negotiations.
Despite that, the Steelers are reportedly confident that they have a shot to land Aiyuk in a trade. It would be a massive move to acquire Aiyuk to replace Johnson, as he is one of the better young receivers in the NFL with legitimate No. 1 tools. He and George Pickens would create a dynamic one-two punch at wide receiver for Wilson and Fields to work with in the passing game.
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