{"id":5912,"date":"2024-11-04T09:31:20","date_gmt":"2024-11-04T09:31:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hotnews.azontree.com\/?p=5912"},"modified":"2024-11-04T09:31:20","modified_gmt":"2024-11-04T09:31:20","slug":"breaking-steelers-had-eyes-on-trade-for-injured-wr-insider","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hotnews.azontree.com\/?p=5912","title":{"rendered":"BREAKING: Steelers \u2018Had Eyes On\u2019 Trade for Injured WR: Insider.."},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"post-featured-container-id\">\n<div id=\"post-featured\" class=\"wp-caption\">\n<div class=\"h-responsive\">\n<figure class=\"h-responsive__inner\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"attachment-featured-image size-featured-image wp-post-image\" src=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Christian-Kirk-e1730661920191.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=780\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 820px) 95vw, 780px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Christian-Kirk-e1730661920191.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=780 780w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Christian-Kirk-e1730661920191.jpg?quality=15&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1100 1100w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Christian-Kirk-e1730661920191.jpg?quality=35&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1350 1350w\" alt=\"Jaguars wide receiver Christian Kirk.\" width=\"780\" height=\"439\" data-img-load-time=\"679\" data-dom-ready-time=\"761\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span class=\"caption-credit\">Getty<\/span>The Pittsburgh Steelers showed interest in Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Christian Kirk before his injury according to an NFL insider.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>We are two days away from the 2024\u00a0NFL\u00a0trade deadline and the\u00a0Pittsburgh Steelers\u00a0are still without a new starting-caliber wide receiver.<\/p>\n<p>Despite that, The Athletic\u2019s\u00a0Dianna Russini reported\u00a0that the Steelers are \u201cstill looking for a receiver\u201d on November 2. One day later on November 3, NFL Network insider\u00a0Ian Rapoport provided\u00a0some more information on Pittsburgh\u2019s ongoing search at the position.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere are still several WR-needy teams who haven\u2019t gained a new pass-catcher \u2014 including the Steelers, who appear to have been in search for help at the position for months,\u201d Rapoport wrote. \u201cPittsburgh, sources say, had eyes on\u00a0[Jacksonville] Jaguars\u00a0wide receiver\u00a0Christian Kirk before his season ended with a fractured collarbone in Week 8.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>If accurate, that could explain some of the delay in Steelers trade talks. It also gives insight into something else, however \u2014 the type of wide receiver that Pittsburgh wants for their offense.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>Steelers\u2019 Reported Christian Kirk Interest Hints at Type of WR Pittsburgh Is Looking to Trade For<\/h2>\n<p>Kirk is a veteran pass-catcher with\u00a0six and a half seasons\u00a0worth of experience in this league.<\/p>\n<p>Coming out of college, NFL Network draft expert\u00a0Lance Zierlein described him as a \u201cwell-built, mentally tough slot target whose game is built around pace more than explosiveness.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHis lack of speed and length make him less likely to impact games down the field, but his footwork, route tempo and hands should give him an opportunity to find catches underneath,\u201d Zierlein continued. \u201cKirk\u2019s ability to help in the return game is a plus, but the difference between average and good as a receiver could depend on finding the right fit.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Fast forward to 2024, and Kirk has shown a lot more versatility than his initial scouting report.<\/p>\n<p>Although Kirk has lined up in the slot a lot since moving to Jacksonville, the\u00a0Arizona Cardinals\u00a0used to utilize him out wide. In 2020, the playmaker actually lined up outside 83.7% of snaps according\u00a0to Pro Football Focus.<\/p>\n<p>Having said that, at this stage of his career, Kirk is more of a trusty slot receiver that could have potentially pushed\u00a0Calvin Austin III\u00a0for opportunities with the Steelers.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>Which Available WRs Fit Christian Kirk\u2019s Profile?<\/h2>\n<p>As Rapoport noted, Kirk is done for the season with a broken collarbone. So, will the Steelers pivot to another trade target that fits a similar mold for offensive coordinator Arthur Smith?<\/p>\n<p>Over the past week,\u00a0The Athletic\u2019s Mike DeFabo\u00a0and\u00a0Russini\u00a0both\u00a0highlighted several remaining wide receivers\u00a0that could make sense for the Steelers. Out of the players they both listed,\u00a0Carolina Panthers\u00a0veteran\u00a0Adam Thielen\u00a0is the most similar to Kirk by far.<\/p>\n<p>When healthy, Thielen has lined up in the slot 73.1% of the time in 2024 \u2014\u00a0per PFF. Over the course of a full season last year, that slot percentage was similar at 69.1%.<\/p>\n<p>Thielen would also provide a similar level of trustiness and experience that Pittsburgh might be looking for \u2014 except the Panther has been in the NFL much longer than Kirk.<\/p>\n<p>Entering the league in 2014, this is Thielen\u2019s\u00a011th campaign. And although he\u2019s dealt with injury in 2024, the long-time pass-catcher has typically remained healthy throughout his career with eight years where he appeared in 15 or more games.<\/p>\n<p>Thielen also has three 1,000-yard seasons on his resume, one of which occurred in 2023. He has a career catch percentage of 69.7%.<\/p>\n<p>Outside of Thielen,\u00a0New England Patriots\u00a0veteran WRs\u00a0K.J. Osborn\u00a0and\u00a0Kendrick Bourne\u00a0have each spent some time in the slot, but not as much as Kirk or Thielen. They could represent versatile trade candidates for the Steelers if the Panthers elect to keep Thielen.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>GettyThe Pittsburgh Steelers showed interest in Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Christian Kirk before his injury according to an NFL insider. We are two days away from the&#8230; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":5913,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5912","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>BREAKING: Steelers \u2018Had Eyes On\u2019 Trade for Injured WR: Insider.. - NEWS USA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/hotnews.azontree.com\/?p=5912\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"BREAKING: Steelers \u2018Had Eyes On\u2019 Trade for Injured WR: Insider.. - NEWS USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"GettyThe Pittsburgh Steelers showed interest in Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Christian Kirk before his injury according to an NFL insider. 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