Packers $6.5 Million Starter Named ‘Top’ Trade Option for Steelers

The Green Bay Packers might prefer having an overflow in their wide receiver room heading into the start of OTAs, but their tune could change about starter Romeo Doubs if the Pittsburgh Steelers come calling in the weeks ahead.

Last week, the Steelers traded away controversial starting wide receiver George Pickens along with a 2027 sixth-round pick to the Dallas Cowboys in exchange for a 2026 third-round selection and a 2027 fifth-rounder. The trade followed an earlier offseason move in which the Steelers acquired D.K. Metcalf and signed him to a $150 million extension.

After trading Pickens, though, the Steelers are looking at a diminished receiving corps. Metcalf provides them with a proven No. 1 receiver, but their options for the No. 2 role include Calvin Austin III, veteran Robert Woods and 2024 Day 2 pick Roman Wilson.

The Steelers will naturally want to see how their current personnel perform in OTAs. If they reach June and continue to have uncertainties about the position group, though, Bleacher Report’s Adam Wells believes they could fix their sights on Doubs — especially if the Steelers choose to sign former Packers starting quarterback Aaron Rodgers.

“There has been no definitive indication that the Packers are shopping Doubs in a trade, but he could bring back some value for a team that did use a lot of draft capital on receivers, “Wells wrote on May 7 following the Pickens trade.

“Doubs is also entering the final season of his rookie contract with a $3.6 million cap hit, so it wouldn’t be difficult for other teams to fit him on the roster. A team like the Steelers, that will pick up additional draft capital when the Pickens trade is finalized, could take a swing on Doubs.”

NFL Insider Pops Bubble About Romeo Doubs Trade

Doubs has been a popular hypothetical trade candidate since before the Packers drafted two wide receivers in the first two days of the 2025 NFL draft. Not only is he entering the final year of his $6.59 million rookie contract, but he is also coming off a somewhat middling 2024 season for the Packers in which he also had an off-the-field issue.

For those rooting for such a trade, though, ESPN’s Peter Schrager warns his talks with Packers head coach Matt LaFleur suggest it will not happen before the 2025 season.

“With the Steelers trading Pickens, there’s a lot of rumors about Doubs and his relationship to Rodgers, who praised him as a rookie, and I’m here to tell you, LaFleur was like, ‘Romeo Doubs is great in our building,'” Schrager told The Pat McAfee Show on May 8. “So, I don’t think one of those Packers receivers is being shipped, either. I think the Packers are really happy with their young wide receiver room.”

How Will Packers Proceed With Romeo Doubs in 2025?

Even if the Packers are not shopping Doubs on the trade market, questions linger about his long-term future with the team as he prepares for the final year of his rookie deal.

The Packers must decide whether they want to sign him to a new contract before next March and are likely already deep in the process of evaluating his long-term fit. He has started 35 games for them over his first three seasons and projects to start once again in 2025, but he has not yet exceeded 700 yards in a season and may still stand on uneasy ground with the team after his conduct drew him a one-game suspension in 2024.

Additionally, the Packers have prepared their roster for his potential departure. They have Jayden Reed and Dontayvion Wicks signed through the 2026 season and just added first-rounder Matthew Golden and third-rounder Savion Williams last month, giving them options if either he or Christian Watson (or both) don’t return after 2025.

Of course, Doubs could change the narrative if he has a breakout season in 2025.

The Packers have a wide array of receiving options that include tight ends Tucker Kraft and Luke Musgrave, but Doubs is the most experienced pass-catcher on the roster and could realistically solidify himself as Love’s No. 1 receiving target if the Packers offense takes a step forward and focuses its target shares a little bit more than in the past.

If Doubs exceeds 1,000 yards and properly breaks out in 2025, the Packers would have a more difficult time letting him go and might feel foolish if they decided prematurely.