Steelers Have to be Mindful of Chiefs in Pursuit of Young WR

There have been some conflicting reports out there suggesting that the Pittsburgh Steelers might not be interested in making any big moves at this year's NFL trade deadline. 

With the trade deadline about a week away, the Steelers will have to make some difficult decisions that will affect their immediate and long-term future.

With quarterback Aaron Rodgers under center, it's fair to mention that trying to go all in this year makes plenty of sense for Pittsburgh. If the idea wasn't to try to win a Super Bowl this season, why would any team start a quarterback who is older than 40 years old? 

I personally wouldn't be able to find an answer to that, but perhaps the Steelers have one in the back of their minds.

While it remains uncertain what's fully going to happen with the Steelers at the trade deadline, if the team does make a move, everybody wants it to be at the wide receiver position. 

There's no debate that Rodgers needs another receiver, and multiple receivers could be available. There's some hope that a guy like Garrett Wilson could become available and the Steelers would be interested, but it doesn't look like that's going to be the case.

In regard to another player who could be available, Indianapolis Colts receiver Josh Downs has been floated as an option. According to the latest from one ESPN insider, the Steelers have some level of interest in Downs, with the report also indicating that the Kansas City Chiefs are another team with interest.

“Defensive tackle Grover Stewart and wide receivers Downs and Keenan Allen are among the Colts players likely to move. Downs is of interest to the Steelers and the Chiefs. 

“He is 25 years old and eligible for free agency at the end of the season. Stewart might be a little tougher to deal, since his base salary this year is $11.74 million, so an acquiring team would need to be able to fit about half that under its salary cap. But there are enough teams looking for interior linemen that he likely finds a new home at some point in the next week,” Dan Graziano wrote.

The Chiefs have more of a need for a guy like Downs right now, if we go off the simple fact that they look to be one of the better teams in the NFL. 

The Steelers have won a lot of games to start the year and deserve some respect, but Kansas City is clearly the better team at the moment. Kansas City also has a worse receiving corps, which is another factor the Steelers are going to have to deal with over the next week or so. 

If these teams get desperate, there's a chance they lose out on a guy like Downs.