Mike Tomlin spoke to the media following Wednesday’s practice and gave an update on the 53-man roster as well as addressed the trades for OL Jesse Davis and OLB Malik Reed.
When asked if he may be anticipating more trades occurring before the regular season starts given the fact the Pittsburgh completed two trades prior to the roster cutdown deadline, Tomlin left the light on in terms of more deals potentially being in the works over the next several days.
“We’re open to it,” Tomlin said regarding more external moves occurring per the official transcript from the team. “It’s just business this time of year. A lot of conversations are being had.”
We know that the Pittsburgh Steelers have been active in conversations with other teams regarding the trade market, with reports surfacing the last few days that teams have inquired about the availability of QB Mason Rudolph, yet no offer has interested Pittsburgh enough to deal away the Oklahoma State product as of yet. We also found out from ESPN insider Jeremy Fowler that the Steelers have been active in trade discussions around the league regarding offensive linemen, having been in the running to acquire Dennis Daley and ending up dealing for Davis after Daley got dealt to Tennessee.
The Pittsburgh Steelers were in dire need to add outside linebacker and offensive line depth, making trades to acquire Reed and Davis which slightly improve the roster. However, these moves don’t move the needle very far in terms of impacting the starting lineup, particularly along the offensive line. GM Omar Khan mentioned that the team is committed to improving that unit the best they can to field a competitive roster in 2022, therefore Pittsburgh may not be done at least exploring other options on the trade market.
Eagles OT Andre Dillard has been a name floated around the league as a potential trade candidate, and given assistant GM Andy Weidl’s connection to Philadelphia, Dillard could be a plausible name Pittsburgh would deal for if the price is right.
The Pittsburgh Steelers aren’t guaranteed to make a trade prior to Week 1 of the regular season, but like Mike Tomlin stated, a lot of conversations are being had at this time inside the organization as well with other NFL teams to see if a deal can be struck. They still have some key spots on the roster they could improve before taking on Cincinnati in the regular season opener, so stay tuned in to see if another trade surfaces over the next several days.
