The Pittsburgh Steelers are 5-2 after a decisive 37-15 win over the New York Jets on Sunday night. But as head coach Mike Tomlin has shown, the Steelers are always striving to improve, even when they’re winning. He moved from Justin Fields to QB Russell Wilson, who started the first six games of the season for the Steelers. So would Tomlin and general manager Omar Khan make a trade for Los Angeles Rams WR Cooper Kupp to continue pursuing a better offense?

Finally, the Steelers pursued San Francisco 49ers WR Brandon Aiyuk during the offseason. And they have been linked to WR Davante Adams of the Las Vegas Raiders (now Jets). So the front office and coaching staff have certainly shown that they want to improve their wide receiver corps. And that’s why Pro Football Focus calls the Steelers’ trade for Kupp one of its 10 “fairytale trades.”

“He looked fantastic to open the 2024 season in Detroit — with 14 catches for 110 yards and a 72.8 receiving grade — but missed four straight games with an ankle injury,” Bradley Locker wrote. “If Les Snead wanted to do business with Kupp, Pittsburgh would be a perfect partner. The Steelers generally struggled offensively in Arthur Smith’s first year, especially through the air. Pittsburgh ranks 13th in EPA per game, largely due to a receiving corps that ranks 13th in receiving grade. The lack of a viable No. 2 opposite George Pickens has certainly limited the ceiling of the group.”

In eight seasons with the Rams (including two games in 2024), Kupp has 635 receptions for 7,865 yards and 59 touchdowns. On paper, Kupp fits exactly what the Steelers need: a savvy, experienced wide receiver with plenty of power. And he’s a Super Bowl winner. These two reasons are a big reason why the Steelers turned to Wilson at quarterback to bolster the offense. Maybe that’s why they would trade for Kupp.

However, none of that matters if the Rams don’t want to move on from him. But there is definitely smoke around Los Angeles (not just smog). Multiple teams are reportedly inquiring with Snead and the Rams about Kupp’s availability.

But why would the Rams want to move on from a player like Kupp? He is only 31 years old.

“At 2-4, the Rams are facing some kind of injunction regarding their current roster construction,” Locker wrote. “The core of the team that won Super Bowl 56 is either gone or aging; Injuries have depleted the current squad; and the defense was abysmal. Could this make Kupp available? The 31-year-old has been plagued by injuries since his record-breaking 2021 season. During that stretch, Kupp only posted a receiving grade above 74.0 once while playing no more than 767 offensive snaps in a year.”

Due to injuries, Kupp had difficulty staying on the field. And that is the biggest sticking point in this trade. Do the Steelers want to take the risk of a receiver coming through an injury? Especially one who has struggled with multiple injuries recently?

It all depends on the cost. But if Cooper Kupp were healthy, he would be a huge improvement to the Steelers’ wide receiver corps. And that’s exactly what Khan and Tomlin have been looking for since the start of the new league year.