The Steelers are now back at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex, facing down a long regular season that looks a lot more promising given how things have gone leading up to it. Finishing just above .500 last year, they anticipate being able to compete with any team in the league this season with second-year QB Kenny Pickett leading the way.
They’ve done a great deal to address what they identified as their shortcomings during the offseason, which included addressing the offensive and defensive lines as well as the secondary and the inside linebacker room, which is nearly entirely different from last year. The results have been positive so far.
Even well into the regular season and beyond, there are going to be plenty of questions that need answered. When will the core rookies get to play, or even start? Is the depth sufficient where they upgraded? Can they stand toe-to-toe with the Bengals and the other top teams in the league? We’ll try to frame the conversation in relevant ways as long as you stick with us throughout the season, as we have for many years.
Question: Will the Steelers trade a defensive lineman away before the start of the regular season?
With their deepest 90-man roster in years, the Steelers are already sellers before the Tuesday deadline to whittle their team down to 53 players, and they may even have more to sell after dealing G Kevin Dotson yesterday. They have an excess of assets particularly in the trenches, and there are more rosterable players there than they will be able to keep.
Pittsburgh has been in the selling mode before, even dealing multiple players at this time of year. A few years back, they managed to trade both CB Ross Cockrell and WR Sammie Coates, and then OT Jerald Hawkins a year later. They have resources that are just as commodifiable as these this year.
Arguably the cleanest asset, outside of contract considerations, was fourth-year veteran G Kevin Dotson, who has a good amount of starting experience. He was displaced with the signing of Isaac Seumalo this offseason, with Nate Herbig also expected to be the primary backup.
With a healthy compensation package of a pair of mid- to late-round swaps of draft picks from the Los Angeles Rams, it’s understandable why the Steelers felt comfortable pulling the trigger here. but is there still another trade to come on the other side of the ball?
The glut along the defensive line could also foster a trade opportunity. The back end of the roster features Montravius Adams, Armon Watts, Isaiahh Loudermilk, and Breiden Fehoko. If any team is willing to trade for any of them, it would make whittling the group down for the 53-man roster a little bit easier.
Outside of these two positions, I don’t really see any other plausible options. Would anybody trade for TE Zach Gentry? Probably not, though you never know. The Steelers gave up a fifth-round pick for Nick Vannett a few years back.
They’re not going to get anything great without giving up anything great, of course. At best, we’re probably looking at a couple of late-round draft picks, or even swaps of late-rounders to improve their draft position. A player-for-player trade is not outside the realm of possibility, and they could use a more natural reserve center.
Outside of the defensive line, another potential trade candidate is P Braden Mann. While the Steelers have already waived their other specialists who lost out on starting jobs, Mann, a three-year veteran, is still here.
