Changes are coming to the Pittsburgh Steelers this offseason, particularly on offense. The team has already hired a new offensive coordinator in former Atlanta Falcons coach Arthur Smith. They met with Russell Wilson, and appear dead set on finding a new quarterback to take over for Kenny Pickett, Mitchell Trubisky (who was released and signed with the Bills), and Mason Rudolph.
And now, according to The Athletic, they are open to listening to trade offers for wide receiver Diontae Johnson ahead of free agency.
Johnson, 28, is headed into the final year of the two-year contract extension he signed back in 2022. He's set to count for $15.8 million against Pittsburgh's books this year, but only around $5.8 million of that is guaranteed. The rest is tied up in base salary and roster bonuses. So, Pittsburgh could clear a decent amount of cap room by cutting ties.
But it would further eat into the talent in a wide receiver room that already did not have much beyond Johnson and George Pickens.
Johnson picked up at least 86 receptions and 882 yards in each season from 2020 to 2022, but fell off a bit this year as he played in only 13 games and was saddled with even worse quarterback play than usual. He has been a strong target earner throughout his career but has generally struggled with efficiency and not provided much in the way of explosiveness. He does seem to have gotten the drop issue under control a bit more in recent years (he had a 9% drop rate in 2020 but has maxed out at 4.8% in the three years since then), and teams looking for a possession receiver at a relatively cheap price could come calling.
Pittsburgh would then need to find a way to inject more talent into its pass-catching corps, because Pickens and tight end Pat Freiermuth will need some help -- as will whichever quarterback ends up under center.
