The New England Patriots and the Pittsburgh Steelers have wildly different outlooks going into the 2025 season. While the Steelers are trying to get one last hurrah out of Aaron Rodgers, the Patriots are trying to steadily build a contender around Drake Maye.
However, the two franchises have a common position group that isn’t on par with the rest of the organization: the wide receiver group. As a result, one analyst believes the two franchises could serve as outside bets to add one of the best pass catchers from last year, should he become available via trade.
Could the Steelers and the Patriots Get Wide Receiver Help via Trade?
After Rodgers finally signed with Pittsburgh, the team had a stable quarterback situation. But apart from the offseason addition of DK Metcalf, the rest of the wide receiver group isn’t up to par, especially after trading away George Pickens to the Dallas Cowboys.
As a result, Kristopher Knox of Bleacher Report, in his list of stars that could become available via trade, pegged the Steelers as a viable trade target for Terry McLaurin of the Washington Commanders.
Top 5 Terry McLaurin Plays of his Career
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#1
Makes a huge adjustment on the ball pic.twitter.com/iMnI63f67O— CommandersMuse (@CommandersMusee) June 23, 2025
A trade for a player who just broke the franchise record for most touchdowns at 13 last year seems unlikely. But the organization has been embroiled in a long contract dispute with the wide receiver, leading to McLaurin even leaving training camp “unexpectedly.”
If the situation worsens and a trade becomes viable, then a two-time Pro Bowler still in his prime would become one of the biggest trade targets across the league. But even before that situation arises, Knox argues that Pittsburgh and New England should be trying to pry him away from the nation’s capital.
For the NFC squad, Knox wrote, “New England has a promising second-year quarterback in Drake Maye who could use a reliable pass-catcher like McLaurin.” This offseason, they added Mack Hollins and Stefon Diggs.
But neither of those, especially after Diggs’ ACL injury last year, is guaranteed to be a smash-hit success. McLaurin, on the other hand, was wildly productive with rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels, and new head coach Mike Vrabel will be hoping for a similar turn of events for Maye.
He had a similar argument for the Steelers, claiming, “The Steelers are betting big on Rodgers this season but have questionable receiver depth behind early offseason trade acquisition DK Metcalf.”
For a team that ranked 25th on PFSN’s Offense+ metric, just a change at quarterback might not be enough to break Mike Tomlin’s zero playoff wins since 2016 streak. There, another superstar wide receiver could be a smart addition in the short and long term.
As it turns out, the Steelers and the Patriots have more than their six Super Bowl wins in common. Their success, for next season and beyond, could also depend on wide receiver depth, making an All-Pro caliber receiver in his prime the perfect target for both rosters.
a true Pittsburgh Steelers fan, since the 70’s wide receiver Terry McLaurn is good wide receiver and he shuold get paid and I wouldn’t mind if the Steelers could trade for Terry McLaurn but he want to get paid more than Justin Jefferson and the Steelers can’t afford Terry McLaurn salary