With the trade deadline still a month away, the league is already sorting itself into contenders and those looking ahead to 2026 — teams that will soon emerge as buyers and sellers once the market heats up. It’s reasonable to wonder if the Pittsburgh Steelers might have one last big move in them as it becomes more and more likely that they not only qualify for the playoffs, but potentially host a game in the tournament.
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Ray Fittipaldo isn’t convinced the Steelers will be significant buyers in the wide receiver market despite months of talk about the potential for that to happen.
“I don’t think so, not at this point,” he said via 93.7 The Fan’s Pomp and Joe Show. “Especially if this Calvin Austin [III] injury isn’t a long-term deal…Whether people like it or not, they like Calvin Austin as a No. 2 receiver. They think he can do the job. So unless he’s gonna be out for weeks and they really feel like they have to go out and address that, I don’t think you’re gonna see anything.”
All signs point to Austin avoiding a long-term injury. Other than Gerry Dulac’s report that he could be out “at least several weeks,” everything else has come back positive. The Athletic’s Mike DeFabo reported his X-rays came back negative, and Austin himself said he was all good on social media shortly after the game.
“Even if that does happen, let’s say the injury is longer than they would like…You would want to go out and get somebody who’s gonna be able to affect football games and really draw coverage away from DK Metcalf. And I don’t know the Steelers are in position to trade another high pick,” Fittipaldo said.
The Steelers would have to be supremely confident in their ability to make a deep run in the playoffs with a chance to hoist their seventh Lombardi Trophy to part with any significant draft capital at the deadline. Their entire free agency strategy was to maximize their compensatory draft picks to have a healthy stockpile for the 2026 draft.
They’ve tipped their hand multiple times now that their intention is to get a good look at the quarterback draft class. It would be short-sighted to part ways with a Day 2 draft pick to land a receiver if that lowers their chances of landing a franchise quarterback.
We already saw last year how the Steelers are slow to integrate new pieces into their offense. Mike Williams came in at the deadline and only had nine catches in nine games for Pittsburgh. Do they really want to go down that route again?
If they can get a mid-tier depth receiver for a fifth-round pick, great. But a splashy move at the position seems unlikely, unless Calvin Austin III is out for several weeks.
