The Pittsburgh Steelers need to add a wide receiver before the Nov. 4 trade deadline, as the team simply doesn't have enough juice at the position.
The Steelers entered the season with DK Metcalf as their No. 1 target, but there isn't much else behind him. Calvin Austin, who is dealing with an injury, is currently serving as the No. 2 receiver, but he's best suited as a No. 3 option.
With rumors swirling that the Steelers are in the market for a wide receiver, CBS Sports' Garrett Podell is predicting the team will pull off a rare in-division trade, acquiring DeAndre Hopkins from the Baltimore Ravens.
"The acquisition cost for Hopkins shouldn't be high given his age, and the Ravens won't need his services much longer with one of football's worst defenses making it nearly impossible for whoever lines up at quarterback for them to win games. It seems like a win-win deal for two bitter AFC North rivals with the Ravens even getting a single pick back for a 33-year-old receiver on a one-year deal," he said.
The first problem with this prediction is that the Ravens aren't likely to be keen on trading Hopkins, who is on a one-year deal, to a division rival, even if their season continues to go off a cliff.
However, after the Cincinnati Bengals and Cleveland Browns got together for a Joe Flacco trade, we can no longer rule anything out. Not to mention, if Baltimore finds itself at 1-7 or 2-6 at the deadline and Pittsburgh comes with a strong offer, maybe the Ravens would soften their stance.
A seven-time 1,000-yard receiver, Hopkins was once one of the elite weapons in the NFL, but he's not the same player at the age of 33.
Regardless, he has shown he's still got some gas left in the tank with 178 receiving yards through six games. His production would likely be better than that if Lamar Jackson didn't miss two games due to injury.
Even still, Hopkins' production would rank second on the Steelers, which shows he'd be an immediate upgrade. A duo of Metcalf and Hopkins would easily be better than what the Steelers have now.
While we'd love to see the Steelers make a bigger splash for a younger player, that kind of deal might not be available to them and general manager Omar Khan can do a lot worse than adding a reliable veteran target like Hopkins.
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