Buy or Sell: 5 Steelers to keep or ship before the NFL trade deadline

The Pittsburgh Steelers have some decisions they should ponder before the NFL trade deadline. Here are five players to keep or ship before November 2nd.

Over the past few years, the Steelers haven’t stood idly by and watched the hands of the clock tick past the NFL trade deadline. In 2019, Pittsburgh made a blockbuster trade for Minkah Fitzpatrick and grabbed Nick Vannett after several regular-season games have already been played. Last year, they traded a fifth-round pick for Jets linebacker Avery Williamson just before the deadline.

With the Steelers in quite the predicament, it’s hard to know exactly who this team should be buying or selling at this point. Here are five veterans they should keep or ship before the November 2nd NFL trade deadline:

Steelers TE Eric Ebron: Sell

The Steelers would hardly be selling high on Eric Ebron, as 2021 has been one of the worst seasons of his professional career. Still, there could be a buyer out there somewhere who is willing to overpay via trade based on Ebron’s reputation as a Pro Bowler and former 10th overall pick.

Don’t get me wrong, Ebron still has some to offer as a receiver. He’s a solid athlete who can get open across the middle, but Pittsburgh clearly has a better option in rookie Pat Freiermuth and he needs to be on the field much more moving forward. Likewise, Zach Gentry is a significantly better blocker who can play in-line and hold his own against edge defenders.

Even if Ebron only fetches a late-round conditional pick, it could be worth executing for the Steelers at this point. Barring a major injury to Freiermuth, I have a hard time thinking of a reason why Ebron should keep seeing the field.