The NFL trade deadline is fast approaching with Week Eight of the season coming to a close as teams have until 4 p.m. EST tomorrow to finalize any deals with other teams. We saw the Pittsburgh Steelers be active around the deadline last year, trading WR Chase Claypool to the Chicago Bears for a second-round pick while also acquiring CB William Jackson III from the Washington Commanders for a conditional late-round pick swap.
However, heading into the trade deadline this season, Pittsburgh may not as inclined to rock the boat as it did last year, having obvious value fall into their lap. NFL analyst Adam Caplin sees it this way as well, predicting that the Steelers will be one of the least likely teams to make a deal before 4 p.m. tomorrow in a recent article for Pro Football Network.
“Like some other ‘old school’ teams, the Steelers typically build through the draft and add a few free agents here and there, but they’re not likely to make many in-season trade deadline deals,” Caplan wrote. “In fact, both players on their roster who were acquired via trades were not acquired near the deadline over the years. S Minkah Fitzpatrick was acquired in September 2021 from the Miami Dolphins, and veteran WR Allen Robinson II was acquired in April of this year.
“And as one personnel executive from another team told us, they seem to be ‘really happy with their rookie class and want those guys to play.’ Again, nothing is guaranteed here, and Pittsburgh has long-term needs (a cornerback especially to play opposite Joey Porter Jr. for the future), but those can be addressed in free agency or next year’s draft.”
The Steelers did acquire the likes of Fitzpatrick and Robinson. as Caplan mentioned, but both players came at a great value to the team. Fitzpatrick was well worth the price of a first-round pick along with a fifth- and sixth-round pick with Pittsburgh also getting a fourth rounder in the deal. Pittsburgh basically moved down 13 spots in the seventh round of the 2023 NFL Draft to acquire Robinson, getting the Rams to eat part of his salary in the process to finalize the deal.
This goes to show that GM Omar Khan isn’t impulsive when it comes to making deals. He is calculated and weighs the potential benefits and risks associated with acquiring a player from another team and the price it would take to get the deal done. Caplan is right in saying that Pittsburgh could use another young, long-term starter opposite CB Joey Porter Jr., but those wishing for Broncos CB Patrick Surtain II to be a Steeler by the end of the day tomorrow should temper expectations — unless the Broncos would be willing to give Surtain, a 2022 All-Pro selection, away at a huge discount.
Pittsburgh is in the business of building through the draft and relying on its home-grown players before looking outside. To this point, the team’s failures have fallen on poor execution by the players as well as poor schemes implemented by the coaching staff, meaning that the issues that Pittsburgh is currently facing are much bigger than simply making one trade at the deadline in hopes of fixing everything. The Steelers have a gifted rookie class that they still are working onto the field, needing to get those players reps as potential long-term pieces for the franchise. Never say never when it comes to Khan, but Caplin is right when saying it’s best to expect things to be quiet in Pittsburgh when the trade deadline comes and goes tomorrow afternoon.
