The Pittsburgh Steelers didn’t have the start they envisioned, but they can still set themselves up for future success with a proactive mindset.
With just days winding down until the November 1st NFL trade deadline, contending teams are starting to get active and their phone lines are buzzing. For these teams, it’s essentially the final call to make one last-ditch effort to improve their rosters prior to making a run for the playoffs in the second half of the season.
Unfortunately, this is no longer a situation the Pittsburgh Steelers find themselves in. Sitting on a 2-5 record is not something that Mike Tomlin is used to entering Week 8 of the NFL season, and with a game coming up against an undefeated Philadelphia Eagles team, it stands to reason that the Steelers could be well removed from the hunt as they enter their Week 9 bye.
While this season could soon be forfeit for Pittsburgh if they don’t turn things around in a hurry, the Rooney’s will have a chance to do something they historically have not done: set themselves up for success in the future.
The Steelers are very much a team that operates year to year. They aren’t concerned about the future or what’s going to happen down the line. The problem is, now that this team is bad (Pittsburgh has, collectively, the worst offense in the NFL), forward-thinking seems like the way to go. Assistant GM Andy Weidl has experience making proactive moves during his time with the Eagles. Now he may be able to do the same for the Steelers.
It would be incredibly naive at this point to believe that the Steelers will suddenly become a Super Bowl-contending team that could go on a deep playoff run. Though they have pieces on their roster to look forward to, it’s just not going to happen this year. Knowing this, Pittsburgh’s front office could take advantage of some desperate teams before the NFL trade deadline.
Steelers should seek trades with desperate NFL teams
Some of these contending teams, like the Eagles and the Chiefs, have already made present-minded moves to give their rosters a boost right now. Philadelphia recently traded with the Bears for edge defender, Robert Quinn, while Kansas City gave up quality draft compensation for Giants receiver Kadarius Toney (who has hardly been used this season after dealing with injuries).
The Steelers don’t have a lot of valuable assets that they would be willing to part with, but they do have a few. Take a player like Larry Ogunjobi, for instance. While the athletic interior defender has played excellently over the past few weeks, there’s almost no chance that he returns to the team in 2023 or beyond.
Pittsburgh is already going to be dishing out a lot of money to Cameron Heyward, and Ogunjobi had a big contract fall through this past offseason for medical reasons before signing with the Steelers. While the team could always try to hope for a compensatory pick, that could potentially be wiped out depending on how much money the team spends in free agency in 2023.
Instead of letting him walk away from the team following the season for nothing, the Steelers could shop him for a respectable draft choice. As I’ve stated often in recent weeks, this team could use as many throws at the dart board in the NFL Draft as possible in an effort to rebuild this roster that’s lacking talent. Perhaps even entertaining the idea of moving a player like Chase Claypool could be worth their while.
For what it’s worth, I don’t really expect Pittsburgh to have this mindset before the trade deadline, but it’s likely this team falls to 2-6 after Sunday and their season could be lost soon. Now is the time to take advantage of desperate contenders and get some quality future draft compensation for players who won’t be part of the picture long term.