Pittsburgh Steelers Urged To Sign Former Pro Bowl Receiver

There have been a lot of rumors swirling around the Pittsburgh Steelers and their pursuit of a wide receiver. They have been linked a lot to San Francisco 49ers star Brandon Aiyuk recently, but no deal has been officially completed.

Until something is done for Aiyuk, if it ever is, wide receiver remains a need for the Steelers. George Pickens is locked in as the No. 1 option, but things behind him on the depth chart are messy.

Rookie Roman Wilson was emerging during the offseason program, but an injury has slowed down his momentum. He is considered week-to-week with a leg injury that was suffered during training camp.

Without Wilson in the mix, Pittsburgh is turning to a group of veterans that includes free agent signings Quez Watkins and Van Jefferson. Calvin Austin III, a fourth-round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, will also factor into the mix.

While the Pittsburgh Steelers are likely going to be a run-first team under offensive coordinator Arthur Smith, it wouldn’t hurt to have some more established talent at wide receiver. Someone to take pressure off of Pickens as the No. 1.

Tight end Pat Freiermuth could certainly be the No. 2 option in the passing game. Both Russell Wilson and Justin Fields have had success working with tight ends in the past in the passing game.

But, the Steelers could also dip into free agency and find some help. Kristopher Knox of Bleacher Report has suggested that the team sign veteran wide receiver Hunter Renfrow as a bargain bin addition in camp.

“There’s no guarantee that Renfrow can return to Pro Bowl form, of course, but with 73 games on his NFL resume, he’d at least give Pittsburgh a proven veteran option.

And while Renfrow is coming off a contract that paid him $16.2 million annually, he should be very open to a team-friendly “prove-it” deal after back-to-back underwhelming campaigns,” Knox wrote.

It wasn’t very long ago that Renfrow was a Pro Bowl receiver and key part of the Las Vegas Raiders offense. In 2021 he set career highs in receptions and yardage before injuries and a regime change with the franchise led to a reduced role.

Returning to the Pro Bowl level of production would obviously be great for the Pittsburgh Steelers. But, they don’t necessarily even need that. Just having another proven veteran behind Pickens would go a long way to helping this offense.

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