The Pittsburgh Steelers are certainly leaving no stone unturned in their hunt for a breakout on offense in 2025. While the flirtation with quarterback Aaron Rodgers continues into the end of May, the Steelers currently seem more intent on investing in other parts of their offense — particularly another prominent pass catcher to pair with new arrival DK Metcalf. 

The trade rumors have been persistent this month and, now, even more names across the league are apparently available for the right price. Yesterday saw the Steelers tied to Miami Dolphins tight end Jonnu Smith in trade discussions via ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Today, NFL insider Jordan Schultz has reported that the Atlanta Falcons have fielded some phone calls regarding tight end Kyle Pitts. 

Pittsburgh hasn’t directly been tied to the report on Pitts, but given Steelers offensive coordinator Arthur Smith’s history with Pitts (and Smith), it’s easy to envision Pittsburgh probing there, too.

But what does the value proposition look like with either target? Depending on the spending point they’re comfortable with, Pittsburgh finds themselves in a desirable spot. They could have a winning option in either name — although it is worth noting that both reports from Schefter and Schultz indicated either the player (Smith) or the team (Atlanta) are not keen on a trade actually happening.

First and foremost, it's important to understand the Steelers' psyche throughout their exploration for a new weapon.

---

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to look around the Steelers' WR room and see they desperately need another weapon. Pittsburgh brass likely saw that this week at OTAs, where DK Metcalf was absent, meaning their top three options on the perimeter were Robert Woods, Calvin Austin III, and Roman Wilson. And so now that everyone is together, we have reports of the Steelers snooping around on Jonnu Smith, and looking to add a weapon, whether it be a TE or WR, by the time the season rolls around. But that's nothing new.

Sources have told A to Z Sports that Pittsburgh has been active in trade talks for weeks, with the Pickens trade catalyzing things. We already saw the Saints say 'no thank you' when Pittsburgh was gauging interest in Chris Olave. So, Pittsburgh is active.

The question is, how much do they want to give up? First off, Pittsburgh would prefer a WR to a TE. The problem is, any WR that would be a significant contributor is going to cost a lot more than Jonnu Smith or Kyle Pitts, both of whom have ties to OC Arthur Smith. The history of Omar Khan suggests nothing more than a day three pick for Smith, likely a fifth rounder, and a third round pick for Pitts.

Both are in the final year of their contracts, so I doubt Pittsburgh would look to extend them ahead of the season unless that was a non-negotiable in the agents' demands.
– Rob Gregson, A to Z Sports

---

The Case For Jonnu Smith

For Arthur Smith’s scheme and the talent present in Pittsburgh, Jonnu Smith feels like the more attractive play provided they can convince the Dolphins to bite on a draft pick or a combination of a pick and another player. Up until 2024, no offense had been able to get a better version of Jonnu than Arthur Smith. His ability to move around the formation and serve as an underneath space catcher would bolster the opportunities of Connor Heyward’s role.

Given the limited receiving profile of Darnell Washington through two seasons in the NFL, the Steelers should be keen on spacing the field with Smith’s diverse two-tight end sets and want to get more ceiling out of the second option at the position. Smith achieves that without interrupting Pat Freiermuth's role as the de-facto 'Y' tight end. And, as was previously mentioned, Smith should be a cheaper trade chip to acquire because he's an older player with a lesser pedigree. 

The Case For Kyle Pitts

Pitts offers a receiving game profile as well but the delicate balance of utilization may require him to play more on the perimeter. Smith did that successfully during Pitts' rookie season in 2021 in Atlanta — so he should be plenty comfortable there. And given the fact that Pittsburgh is keen on finding another receiver, Pitts can arguable fit that role as an isolation receiver more favorably. 

Pitts took over one-third of his snaps as a rookie on the perimeter, a number that dipped all the way down to one-fifth of snaps in 2024. There's an argument to be made that Pitts is better served in that type of perimeter role versus working both underneath and in the middle of the field, where Smith does his damage. 

The question really comes down to what kind of flavor the Steelers are seeking to infuse into their depth chart around DK Metcalf.  The reported conversation starter for the Falcons is with a Day 2 draft selection. Conveniently enough, the Steelers have an extra one at their disposal as a result of the Pickens deal. 

At the end of the day, either one of these weapons can fit with Arthur Smith's scheme. They've both played well in it. The question instead becomes how ambitious are the Steelers to land a big fish? If the answer is "very", they'll have two great options with two different potential costs to choose from and try to facilitate. 

Aaron Rodgers provides details on the personal situation keeping him from signing with the Steelers on Joe Rogan’s podcast

It's been a number of weeks since Aaron Rodgers appeared on the Pat McAfee Show, citing personal reasons behind the delay in his football decision.  Earlier this week, he sat down with Joe Rogan to talk a variety of topics, including his future.  In doing so, we received more details on Roidgers' personal situation. Aaron […]