One NFL player with first-hand knowledge of the Pittsburgh Steelers thinks the team made out in acquiring wide receiver Allen Robinson II from the Los Angeles Rams.
Cornerback Steven Nelson, who played in Pittsburgh from 2019-20 and is now with the Houston Texans, said the Steelers won the trade and that NFL secondaries should now hope the Steelers aren’t on their schedule with Robinson joining Diontae Johnson and George Pickens as starting wide receivers.
“Mike T wins again,” Nelson wrote on Twitter. “Tay Johnson, Pickens, Robinson? Yeah (hope) they not on you schedule. Better have some hittas at DB.”
The bad news for Nelson is that the Steelers are, in fact, on the Texans’ schedule. The Steelers will be making their first trip to Houston since 2017 at some point this season. The full 2023 NFL schedule will not be released until May.
The Texans seem to be as well equipped to deal with the three-pronged receiver threat as anyone, with Nelson joined by 2022 first-round pick Derek Stingley and veteran Nickel back Desmond King.
Nelson had an acrimonious exit from Pittsburgh in 2020, as contract extension talks turned sour. After the Steelers told Nelson to seek a trade, which he was unable to do, he publicly asked to be released, and the team obliged him.
But it doesn’t seem that he’s retained any hostility toward his old squad, complimenting head coach Mike Tomlin on the trade acquisition without prompting and admiring the collection of talent at the wide receiver position.
We’ll see if the relationship remains cordial when Nelson and the new Steelers wide receiver corps gets together on the field this fall.