Grading Steelers-Broncos trade for WR after hometown hero Tyler Boyd signs elsewhere

There are a handful of NFL stars who could still be traded before training camp, and Denver Broncos wide receiver Courtland Sutton is among them. I outlined Sutton and four other players who could be traded this summer earlier this week. It seems to be mostly wide receivers, to be honest. However, I think it was way more likely that the Pittsburgh Steelers will deal for Sutton than they sign Tyler Boyd.

On Tuesday, Boyd agreed to terms with the Tennessee Titans on a one-year contract worth up to $4.5 million.

Pittsburgh will be getting a fixed cost in Sutton's contract, as opposed to having to negotiate with the former Pitt star and hometown hero. The Steelers just got out of the Pitt business with Kenny Pickett, so why put yourself through that? To me, I would go get a promising No. 1 option in Sutton, a guy who has been absolutely starving to go play for any winning franchise since getting drafted out of SMU.

Alex Kay of Bleacher Report proposed this trade between Denver and Pittsburgh to land Sutton.

There are a few problems with this, including the fact the Broncos do not have a sixth-round pick.

The dollars and cents don't make sense, I came up with a trade closer to making it a fair deal for both.

We are talking about a shade under $17 million in assets exchanging hands, with Denver getting a slight premium in return at around $200,000 in additional value from moving on from Sutton here.

Let's discuss if this is a deal worth making for both parties, as well as is Kay's has any merit at all.

How to get Courtland Sutton on Pittsburgh Steelers in a blockbuster deal

For the Steelers, I think you do it for two reasons. One, you will be bringing in a familiar face for presumptive starting quarterback Russell Wilson. Sutton caught passes from Wilson the last two years, albeit to no avail. No matter how they feel about each other, Pittsburgh still has a viable backup option in Justin Fields, a guy whose career is not yet written in stone like Wilson's probably is already.

The other reason why you do the trade with Denver if you are Pittsburgh is Sutton helps elevate this team's finite ceiling from 11 wins to something closer to 13, relatively speaking. It is not much, but Sutton's arrival makes the Steelers a more realistic challenger in the deep division in football. Adding Sutton gives the Steelers an outside shot at winning the AFC North, not finishing in third or fourth.

As for Denver, the Broncos are going to be terrible anyway. Even though they moronically reached on Bo Nix at No. 12 in the 2024 NFL Draft, they could have more bites at the apple to surround the former Oregon star with the most amount of new talent as possible. I suspect they will have a new general manager making those picks because George Paton is about as cooked as Frank Reich now.

Overall, I do like the genesis of Kay's proposed deal, but I would ask for more if I was Denver. Play on the Steelers' desperation to be relevant in a league that has started to pass them by under the incredibly stubborn Mike Tomlin. To me, I would not give up Sutton to a fellow AFC team for anything less than three future picks, unless I would be getting a first-rounder. Sutton is not worth it, but still...

Denver cannot get stuffed into a locker after coughing up its lunch money. They need more than this.

Grade: Incomplete because Broncos' lack sixth-round pick. Otherwise, D for Denver...