The Pittsburgh Steelers had the appearance of a team gearing up to make a serious playoff push and break a postseason victory drought that’s existed for eight painful years. With WR George Pickens reportedly headed to Dallas, that mission gets tougher, leaving former NFL GM Doug Whaley to wonder what the team’s plan is.
Weighing in on the Pickens trade to the Cowboys in exchange for a 2026 third-round pick and 2027 pick swap, Whaley can’t see the team’s vision.
“To me, this is just spinning your wheels,” Whaley told 93.7 The Fan Wednesday morning. “You’re in the same position you were in last year. You have Robert Woods – and I love Robert Woods. I talked about him last week. But he’s not gonna be able to produce what George Pickens can produce. You’re talking about Calvin Austin [III]. He’s an Oompa Loompa. He’s 5-9.”
To Whaley’s point, Pittsburgh’s passing game felt incomplete a year ago due to having just one legitimate threat in Pickens. Defenses doubled him and rolled coverage his way, making it harder for him to get open, and the Steelers lacked the talent elsewhere to take advantage of the attention. Even with Calvin Austin III’s breakout third season, he wasn’t enough of a threat.
When Pickens missed a stretch of late-season games, the passing game tanked even more. Now, Pittsburgh is one Metcalf injury away from being in a very similar predicament.
For a team banking on Aaron Rodgers signing to put it over the top, the Steelers’ offense just got worse and their future more questionable.
“I thought this plan this year was like, let’s get one more run at the ultimate goal,” Whaley said. “Bring Rodgers in. Have the two horses at wide receiver, have the tight end upgrade, the running back position, the defense. Let’s make this last push. This now just counteracts all of that.”
Perhaps the Steelers are playing the long game and, for once, not going all-in to win in the present. Perhaps they now believe Aaron Rodgers won’t sign, though reporting counters that notion. Whatever the reason, it’s hard to figure out if Pittsburgh is in or out and this trade, much like the franchise of the last several years, has the Steelers stuck in neutral.
