Former Pittsburgh Steelers CB Bryant McFadden yesterday indicated that general manager Omar Khan is close to landing a “significant playmaker”, though he declined to elaborate further. Most assume it means a wide receiver, and a trade for a wide receiver, but there are alternatives. There are veterans they can sign, at various positions, and they did that around this time last year.
Indeed, Khan and the Steelers had a fairly busy May, and June for that matter, conducting business. More than at any time I could recall under Kevin Colbert, the Steelers kept busy turning over their roster. Whether they land a “significant playmaker” or not, you can probably count on some meaningful additions.
On May 2, for example, they officially signed CB Chandon Sullivan. I don’t think people likely recall where they were the moment they heard the news, but he still played a significant role on defense last year. On May 17, they re-signed QB Mason Rudolph, then two days later extended Mitch Trubisky’s contract. Arguably most significantly, they signed OLB Markus Golden on May 24.
Early in training camp, they also signed ILBs Kwon Alexander, Toby Ndukwe, and Nick Kwiatkoski. Players like Alexander, Sullivan, and Golden ended up playing a meaningful role for the Steelers in 2023—all on defense.
There is still plenty of opportunity for the Steelers to continue to add veteran help. Soon you’ll see a wave of teams releasing veterans after wrapping up their rookie classes, including college free agents. The Baltimore Ravens always take advantage of every such opportunity to add to the roster.
One player the Steelers are already exploring is a former Raven, DB Anthony Averett. They are reportedly bringing him in for a tryout during rookie minicamp—which you can do as a veteran. A former fourth-round pick, he has 1,732 career defensive snaps to his name, though he spent last season on practice squads.
Of course, players like Averett, even if he played on offense, don’t really fit the “significant playmaker” bill. Then again, we have no idea if the Steelers are even pursuing such a player in the first place. I’m sure they would like to, but do they consider it realistic?
Then again, the Steelers opened up roughly $7 million in cap space just before the draft. They restructured OLB Alex Highsmith’s contract to give them the leeway to make any sudden moves. Presumably, they did pursue opportunities to trade for WRs Brandon Aiyuk and Deebo Samuel, and potentially others.
Those conversations led to nothing at the time, and I don’t know if that changes. Even if that is the case, they can always pivot to alternative options. Every team in the league has a bunch of wide receivers and some of them will listen to trade offers. Maybe they’re talking to the Cincinnati Bengals about Tee Higgins, for all we know. We still have a lot to learn about Omar Khan and the way he runs the front office.
