English
Español
DeutschFree agency is upon us and the Pittsburgh Steelers are going into it with nearly $45 million in salary cap space. General Manager Omar Khan spoke at the NFL Scouting Combine and definitely gave the impression the Steelers would be willing to spend some money this time around. In our free agency primer, we take a look at the Steelers position-by-position.
Wide receivers under contract
The Steelers have the following receivers under contract for 2026:
Roman Wilson
DK Metcalf
Brandon Smith
Ben Skworonek
John Rhys Plumlee
A.T. Perry
Cole Burgess
It's not a stretch to say this might be the worst wide receiver group in the NFL. Metcalf is a solid starter, and Skowronek is an elite special teamer, but beyond that, there's nothing there to get excited about.
In-house free agents
Pittsburgh have three wide receivers set to hit free agency. Calvin Austin III, Marquez Valdes-Scantling and Scotty Miller. At this point, the Steelers have no incentive to re-sign any of these players. Calvin Austin III has hired Drew Rosenhaus to represent him in hopes of getting a new contract but we seriously doubt it is with the Steelers if he's looking for a raise.
Potential free-agent additions
There are really two big names out there we'd love to see the Steelers target. Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Alec Pierce and Green Bay's Romeo Doubs are the two guys the Steelers could really use. Doubs has a history with Aaron Rodgers and could motivate him to return and Pierce is incredibly productive despite the Colts struggles at quarterback. We could throw Seattle's Rashid Shaheed in the mix as well as an elite deep threat.
Potential trade targets
The one name that jumps out to us in this is Indianapolis Colts Michael Pittman Jr. If the Colts tag Alex Pierce or give him a massive new contract, they could be willing to trade Pittman before he hits free agency in 2027. The same coudl be said for the Green Bay Packers and Christian Watson if Doubs gets a new deal.
Top NFL draft options
The 2026 NFL draft is loaded with talent and regardless of what happens in free agency, we expect them to address the position in the first or second roud.
Our favorite first-round options are Indiana's Omar Cooper Jr. and Washington's Denzel Boston. Neither player would require a trade-up, and both players have the polish to their game to come in and play immediately. Moving to the second round, our three favorites are Indiana's Elijah Sarratt, Alabama's Germie Bernard, and Clemson's Antonio Williams.
This article originally appeared on Steelers Wire: Steelers free agency primer: Wide receiver