CUP OF JOE: Starkey on Sports in 350 words or less
Omar Khan’s never-ending search for a legit No. 2 receiver resumes this offseason.
Strike that.
The Steelers have a No. 2 receiver. His name is DK Metcalf. He’s a decent player when he’s not taking pot shots at men in blue wigs, but if he’s a No. 1 receiver, he certainly isn’t an elite one.
One might argue, then, that the Steelers need an upper echelon receiver and at least one other capable one as the offseason unfolds. That is why they were immediately linked with Tyreek Hill when the Miami Dolphins cut Hill on Monday morning.
A year ago, the idea would have merited consideration, assuming one could look past Hill’s checkered and sometimes sordid off-field history.
Now, it should be a non-starter.
The Steelers would be crazy to bring in a soon-to-be 32-year-old receiver who might not even be ready for the start of the season because he’s still recovering from a traumatic leg injury.
Four games into last season, Hill sustained a dislocated knee and a torn ACL on a play against the New York Jets. His super power is Olympic-level speed. Will he ever be the same? If the Steelers were a receiver away from the Super Bowl, I might take a chance on finding out. They’re not.
Hill might have been fading before that, too, although it’s hard to tell how much Miami’s mediocre quarterback play accounted for his disappointing 2024 season.
After an MVP-level year in 2023, Hill sunk to 81 catches, 959 yards and six touchdowns in ’24. That’s still better than what Metcalf did in his first season in Pittsburgh, but it marked a down year for Hill.
Then came the injury, and now age setting in. The Steelers would be far better off signing a healthier, younger free agent and drafting a receiver in the first few rounds.
The Chiefs or Bills might be a player away. Let them take a chance on Hill.