Another day, and another wide receiver hits the open market. The Los Angeles Rams released wide receiver Ben Skowronek on Thursday after they drafted Jordan Whittington in the NFL Draft and added other pieces to that room throughout the offseason. That means Skowronek, who has been with the team since 2021, is now looking for a new home. Throw him on the wheel of speculation for wide receivers coming to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The #Rams are expected to release veteran WR Ben Skowronek, source said. With 12 starts in 3 seasons, Skowronek is a young player with plenty of experience.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) May 9, 2024
Why does Skowronek even remotely make sense for the Steelers? Well, there are a few reasons, even though he is in the same bucket as someone like Scotty Miller. Skowronek would be picked up for his receiving capabilities. He has done very little there in his NFL career.
But he is an excellent special teamer. Skowronek was the Rams special teams captain last season, scoring 13 total tackles on the units. He even had a legitimate role on offense because of his versatility and blocking prowess. Whittington will bring that now for the Rams, but with the condensed splits that Arthur Smith runs and how he asks of his wide receivers in the blocking game, Skowronek makes sense as a depth receiver on the outside.
It still seems like the Steelers are working the phones on the trade market to find someone, but at least Skowronek is different from the same archetype of wide receiver they are adding in Miller, Quez Watkins, and already had on the team in Calvin Austin III. Skowronek also brings far more value to special teams than those signings since he was a standout player with the Rams last season.
The other wrinkle? McVay used Skowronek as a fullback. Smith loves to have some type of fullback on the team, and Skowronek is a more modern type in that he plays mostly in-line as a wide receiver and could bring that versatility to the table. Still, even if they did bring him in, while he does fill some voids in the room and could push to make the team, he is certainly not the solution to the problem by any means.