The Steelers have made some poor trades throughout their history that could have been better if the trade call never went through.
The Steelers have been one of the most consistent franchises in NFL history ever since the Super Bowl era began. Even though they have more success than failure, that does not mean they are immune to making bad moves from time to time. Trades have different factors in play that include many different reasons why something might not work out.
Players are added to the roster to hopefully better the club in a variety of ways. Some are signed in free agency, some are traded to the club, and some are drafted out of college to Pittsburgh. The focus of this article will be looking into some of the worst trades for the franchise.
There have been plenty of swings and misses for this team when it comes to them acquiring players on the trade market. Some are worse than others, depending on how much draft capital or which players they sent away. Not every move works out, but it takes some gambling to win in this league.
Josh Scobee was traded to the Steelers for a sixth-round pick
First up on this list is the infamous trade of Josh Scobee coming to the Steelers for a sixth-round pick in that year’s draft. Drafting a player, in general, is seen as a bold move, but the team was desperate at this time. Their starting kicker, Shaun Suisham was just forced into early retirement due to a knee injury, and it forced their hand.
They saw a veteran kicker, that had good numbers throughout his career, and brought him aboard. A sixth-round pick was not a terrible price for a team that had Super Bowl aspirations. Unfortunately, he did not work out at all and continuously missed kicks. It did open the door for Chris Boswell to sign with the club, so there is some light in this story.
Steelers traded up to the tenth pick to draft Devin Bush
This is the most recent trade to bite the Steelers in the butt. It looked to be a good trade at the time as the club was still trying to find a true number one linebacker for the middle of their defense. Devin Bush was fast and expected to be the next great linebacker for this team.
The confidence in this player was there as Pittsburgh did something that is uncommon for them, they traded up in the draft. Trades in the later rounds are not something totally insane for this franchise, but to move up ten spots in the first round for a player will catch the headlines. They did that and took Bush.
The cost was not astronomical for moving up that many slots. They gave up their first-round pick that year, a second the following draft, and a third in the draft that followed. That is not a bunch to give up for a club that thought they had the next speedy linebacker that they had been missing since Ryan Shazier was forced into early retirement.
This was just a poor trade that has not worked out for either the team or the player. The Denver Broncos got a good haul of picks and passed on taking Bush allegedly, which seems to be the smarter move. He has been dealing with an injury, but this is a make-or-break year for his career.
Steelers traded up in the fourth round to pick Daniel Sepulveda
Now, this is another specialist that the Steelers used one of their draft picks on. That has not been too kind to the club throughout its history and it did not help them this time around. Not only did they use a fourth-round pick on a punter, but they doubled down by trading up.
They felt the desperate urge to trade up and get a player at a position that could have waited longer. Pittsburgh must have thought that this guy had the best leg in the history of the NFL, which did not actually show up in his career. This was a head-scratching move for the team at the time despite needing someone in his position.
Coming out of college, this player did seem to be promising for what he could bring to flip field advantage. He won the Ray Guy Award, given to the best punter in college football. in back-to-back seasons before leaving Baylor for the pros. It makes sense why the Steelers wanted him, but a fourth-round pick and trading up for him was too rich.
He was a part of the winning team of Super Bowl 43, so he did help them secure a championship. Drafting specialists, especially that high in the draft, rarely works out. Trading extra assets to take a player at his position never works out. They could have waited for another time to select his position and not act desperate for a punter.
Steelers trade Buddy Dial for the rights of Scott Appleton
This trade happened almost 60 years ago, so it has been a while. During this time, the Steelers were still the laughingstock of the league with barely any playoff experience to show. The NFL and AFL were battling it out among each other to keep the best players in their league.
Pittsburgh had a great receiver by the name of Buddy Dial, who was one of the NFL’s best players. His career in the league spanned nearly a decade between three teams. He was originally drafted by the New York Giants before he was let go and joined the black and gold. He was their best player, and it was a bit surprising that they traded him away.
The Dallas Cowboys were looking for a new weapon for their offense so they gave the Steelers a call. The team from the Steel City was looking for help on their defensive line so they decided to look at a young player named Scott Appleton. Eventually, the two clubs landed a trade that sent Dial to Dallas and Appleton’s contract rights to Pittsburgh.
Dial would go on to have another couple of years in the league with the Cowboys, but he did not pan out as well as they thought. The good news for them was they at least had him play for them. Appleton did not play a snap for Pittsburgh as he decided to sign with the Houston Oilers of the AFL. His career did not last long as he had substance abuse issues.
Steelers trade up in the fourth round to pick Shamarko Thomas
Shamarko Thomas was a player that the Steelers overvalued when he was taken in the fourth round of the draft. That was not an overdraft, but the team saw him as a successor to recently departed, Ryan Clark. Troy Polamalu was getting older, and the club thought that Thomas could make the transition period less hurtful.
That thought process did not pan out well for the franchise as things progressed through this player’s stint with the club. In the 2013 NFL Draft, the Steelers decided to make a trade-up to select this player that they thought would be a starting safety in the NFL. Not only did they give up a third-round pick the following year to draft this player, but they made the deal with a rival.
The Cleveland Browns moved back and got an extra third-round selection in the following year’s draft a player that barely started for Pittsburgh. That was a wise move by the Browns, and something the Steelers probably regret doing. They invested too much into his potential and that never developed out of this prospect.
Thomas would only last in the NFL for about five years, which included three in the Steel City. He would bounce around from a couple of NFL teams before his career in the league was over. He has been trying to stay in the football life by playing in the Canadian league and sticking his nose into the XFL.
The Steelers made all of these moves with hopes of it making them a better football team. They are normally more right than wrong, but they made bad trades with these.