Steelers Trade Receiver Sammie Coates to Browns
The Steelers have traded wide receiver Sammie Coates and a seventh-round pick to their AFC North rival Browns in exchange for a sixth-round pick.
Coates, 24, was a third-round pick out of Auburn in 2015 and caught 21 balls for 435 yards and two touchdowns a season ago. He's struggled with injuries this offseason, as he had a sports hernia procedure in February and began the preseason on the PUP list after he underwent an arthroscopic knee surgery in July. He returned to catch four passes for 21 yards in three preseason games.
Coates ran a 4.43 40-yard dash at the combine and is a big-play threat—he averaged 20.7 yards per catch last season—but drops far too many balls. His injury concerns, lack of consistency and, perhaps most importantly, the reinstatement of Martavis Bryant decreases Pittsburgh's need for him.
In Cleveland, he projects as the third receiver behind Corey Coleman and Kenny Britt.
