The Pittsburgh Steelers have made some great trades over the years, but these eight were the most disappointing in their storied history.
The Steelers have won far more trades than they have lost throughout their storied history. In fact, I think you could make the case that Pittsburgh has been one of the best teams in the league when it comes to successful trades.
Pittsburgh was able to get a Hall of Fame performance out of Jerome Bettis after leaving the rams, and Kevin Colbert had the gul to aggressively trade up for Troy Polamalu back in 2003.
While the Steelers don’t trade nearly as often as many NFL teams do, they have found great success. However, there have been other trades that have come back to haunt them. Though these aren’t necessarily the worst trades of all-time, here are the eight most disappointing trades in Pittsburgh Steelers history:
Steelers trade up for Ricardo Colclough
After getting some impressive defensive back play in the 90s, Pittsburgh hoped they would keep the ball rolling in the early 2000s with Ricardo Colclough. The Steelers were in need of an upgrade at cornerback, and after taking Ben Roethlisberger in the first round of the 2004 NFL Draft, Pittsburgh didn’t hesitate to trade up for Colclough in the second round.
Sadly, this turned out to be a colossal mistake by Kevin Colbert and his crew. Not only did the Steelers spend a second-round pick on a cornerback who never started a game in four years for them, but they also moved up in the second round and threw in their fourth-round pick to secure Colclough.
Nobody is ever going to complain about the 2004 NFL Draft class for the Steelers after landing a Hall of Fame quarterback, but Pittsburgh dropped the ball with their second selection.