The Steelers are at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex, informally known as the South Side facility, now into the regular season. It’s where they otherwise train all year round, and the facility that Burt Lauten insists everybody refers to by its full name.
There are still unsettled questions that need answering, even deep into the regular season. They entered the process with questions in the starting lineup, in scheme, and elsewhere, but new problems always arise that need to be resolved.
Even questions about who’s starting and when may not have satisfactory answers in their finality, as midseason changes are certainly quite possible, for some positions more than others. We’re also feeling out how the new coordinator posts—or posts in new contexts—end up playing out.
There’s never any shortage of questions when it comes to football, and we’ll be discussing them here on a daily basis for the community to “talk amongst yourselves”, as Linda Richman might say on Coffee Talk.
Question: Will the Steelers trade any players before the deadline?
The trade deadline for the 2022 season is now only hours away. While there has been no direct indication that the Steelers have any inclination to move any assets (or to acquire them from the outside), we can never rule out the possibility of something happening.
Historically, at least in recent history, the Steelers don’t trade many of their players away. The primary period in which they might move somebody is during the final cutdowns heading into the regular season if they have an abundance of talent at a particular position.
I couldn’t tell you when the last time is that the Steelers traded away a player of their own in-season. I don’t think they’ve ever done it at least since Mike Tomlin has been the head coach. Can you recall the last time it happened?
But, lest we forget, we do have a new general manager on our hands, plus an assistant general manager. We have a team that is angling toward having its worst season in at least 19 years, and possibly even worse than that, sitting at 2-6 through the halfwayish mark.
So who am I to say that no, they will definitely not make a deal? I don’t say that. I don’t expect that they’ll trade anybody, but there are always times for them to do something they don’t ordinarily do. Like trading first-round picks, moving up in the first round, guaranteeing third-year salaries, etc.
This is a team in a more vulnerable place than it’s been for a long time, with perhaps a less clear idea of exactly who they are than they are comfortable with. In such an environment, they might be more likely to listen to offers for players like wide receiver Chase Claypool or quarterbacks Mitch Trubisky and Mason Rudolph. And it’s not like these current general managers actually drafted or signed any of these guys.
