The Pittsburgh Steelers’ 2021 season is underway, and they are hoping for a better outcome in comparison to last season. After starting out 11-0, they finished the year 1-4 in the regular season, and then lost in the Wildcard Round to the Cleveland Browns, ignited by a 0-28 first quarter.
They have lost a large number of key players in the offseason, like Maurkice Pouncey, Bud Dupree, Alejandro Villanueva, David DeCastro, Mike Hilton, and Steven Nelson, but they’ve also made significant additions as the months have gone on, notably Trai Turner, Melvin Ingram, Joe Schobert, and Ahkello Witherspoon. They also added Najee Harris, Pat Freiermuth, Kendrick Green, and Dan Moore Jr., all of whom are starting.
There isn’t much left to do but to play the games at this point. Even if they play them poorly. They still have a lot to figure out, though, such as what Matt Canada’s offense is going to look like in any given week, or how the new-look secondary and offensive line is going to play.
These are the sorts of questions among many others that we have been exploring on a daily basis and will continue to do so. Football has become a year-round pastime and there is always a question to be asked. There is rarely a concrete answer, but this is your venue for exploring the topics we present through all their uncertainty.
Question: Were the Steelers close to making any other trades yesterday?
The 2021 NFL trade deadline came and went yesterday, and the Steelers were actually involved, though not in the manner fans would have wanted. With the professional situation between Melvin Ingram and the team deteriorating, they took what they could get for him and got themselves a conditional sixth-round pick.
But there were reports that the Steelers were not done exploring their option at that point, which was at 10 AM, six hours before the deadline, when the trade was first reported. And there were reports that they might be buyers, potentially seeking a veteran defensive lineman to bring in and help out Cameron Heyward.
It seemed to come down to the wire as to whether or not that Philadelphia Eagles, for example, would move Fletcher Cox, but that didn’t happen. Was Pittsburgh on the phone there? Were they potentially in any talks about bringing in a veteran wide receiver?
Did they have any talks about trying to move veteran tight end Eric Ebron, who is currently dealing with an injury and missed Sunday’s game? While there are no indications at all that he has any interest in in rocking the boat, he is trending in the wrong direction in terms of his role in the offense, and it was something that was speculated from the outside.
There were some big moves made around the league during the trade period, most notably with the Denver Broncos dealing future Hall of Famer Von Miller to the Los Angeles Rams. Ingram to the Chiefs isn’t quite as significant, in comparison, but here we are.
