Will Steelers Be Active at Trade Deadline for 4th Straight Year?

With the NFL trade deadline quickly approaching, many media outlets tabbed the Pittsburgh Steelers as frontrunners to trade for many different players throughout the league. After acquiring All-Pro safety Minkah Fitzpatrick from the Miami Dolphins during the 2019 season, the Steelers have not made the splashiest in-season moves, to say the least, which is a trend that can change under the new leadership.

As everybody saw during Omar Khan’s first full offseason as the Steelers’ general manager, the team went away from playing things conservative in regard to their moves. Which begs the question, will the “Khan Artist” pull off some in-season magic to reinforce the roster?

That answer is unknown as of now but let’s take a dive into what the Steelers added, or in some cases, disposed of, in past seasons to help the team down the stretch.

Last season, the Steelers decided to move on from the drama-filled problem of Chase Claypool when they traded him to the Chicago Bears for the 32nd overall selection in the 2023 NFL Draft, which later turned into Joey Porter Jr. The other move that the team made in 2022 was when they sent a conditional 2025 sixth-round draft pick to the Washington Commanders for cornerback William Jackson III. In turn, Jackson never played a down for the Steelers and was released this past offseason.

STEELERS IN-SEASON TRADE HISTORY SINCE 2013

In 2021, the Steelers faced a similar situation when they chose to add to the roster by subtracting from it. Melvin Ingram became disgruntled after not receiving the playing time that he desired and the Steelers honored his wishes by sending him to the Kansas City Cheifs for a sixth-round pick, which turned into Connor Heyward.

The last time the Steelers “went for it” and tried to add a starting-caliber player to the roster was during the 2020 season. The Steelers sent a 2022 fifth-round draft pick to the New York Jets for inside linebacker Avery Williamson. This move did not pan out as the team moved on from Williamson after the season.

The Steelers’ best trade in recent history came in 2019 when they added Fitzpatrick to their secondary. This helped the Steelers finish the season at 8-8 after it seemed like all hope was lost following the season-ending injury to Ben Roethlisberger. In that same season, the Steelers shipped Josh Dobbs to the Jacksonville Jaguars and traded for tight end Nick Vannett from the Seattle Seahawks.

In conclusion, if the pattern continues, the Steelers may not make any significant moves since they own a record of 4-2 and seemingly improved from the start of the season. But, a majority of those moves were manufactured by ex-general manager Kevin Colbert.

With Khan’s willingness to take a gamble, it should not be a shock to see the team attempt to add at least a low-end starter, whether that is a cornerback, wide receiver, or tight end because the team does have some holes in its depth.