Steelers, Browns named possible landing spots for $72 million wide receiver in free agency

The Pittsburgh Steelers and Cleveland Browns have more in common than just being AFC North teams. The divisional foes both need help at wide receiver in 2026.

In Cleveland, the Browns have guys like Jerry Jeudy, Cedric Tillman and Isaiah Bond under contract, but they could use a true No. 1 target and more depth.

As for the Steelers, their struggles to land a sufficient No. 2 receiver have been well-documented and, on top of that, Pittsburgh needs to completely revamp its wide receivers room behind DK Metcalf thanks to a lack of legit talent.

Knowing that, it comes as no surprise that the Steelers and Browns were named as potential landing spots for Houston Texans wide receiver Christian Kirk in free agency by Bleacher Report's Gary Davenport, who said the following:

Players such as Alec Pierce and Wan'Dale Robinson are going to drive the market at wideout this spring, but Kirk is an experienced receiver with a history of producing and should be available for significantly less money.

Potential Fits: Cleveland Browns, Pittsburgh Steelers

What does significantly less money look like?

Well, according to Spotrac, Kirk is estimated to land a one-year, $5 million deal in free agency — and we would agree with that projection.

Kirk signed a four-year, $72 million deal with the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2022 but did not come close to living up to it.

After a strong first season with the Jags that saw him break 1,100 yards, Kirk's stats declined in each of the next three seasons, with injuries playing a role in that.

Jacksonville shipped Kirk off to the Texans in 2025 and he posted a career-low 239 receiving yards in 13 games.

However, Kirk came alive in the playoffs after posting 164 yards and two scores in two postseason games, including a 144-yard performance against the Steelers.

Kirk isn't a No. 1 or even No. 2 wide receiver, but he would offer a strong complementary target for teams looking to round out their groups.

With the Browns and Steelers both looking to do that, we would expect Kirk to be on their respective radars in free agency.

If Kirk had to choose between the Browns and Steelers, we would guess he would easily choose Pittsburgh because of the superior opportunity to win.

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