The trade deadline came and passed, and the Steelers opted to sit on their hands as opposed to making a move. While Omar Khan netted a second-round pick for Chase Claypool a year ago, there wasn’t any great trade bait on this team. Considering how many fans have panned him, it is comical to see fans demanding he get traded.
Perhaps the bigger disappointment was the fact that the team didn’t bring any talent in before the deadline. With cornerback being such a disaster of a position right now, many were hoping a new cornerback would be traded for. This speculation heated up when Jaylon Johnson was granted permission to seek a trade, and the Steelers were supposed front runners to land him.
The deadline came and passed though, and no deal was made. While I am slightly disappointed in the fact that Johnson is still on the Bears, please don’t overreact to this. Not landing him doesn’t end this season (frankly put, the team has done a good job of doing that itself).
Would Johnson have moved the Steelers needle enough?
While adding Johnson would have been an upgrade at cornerback, odds are this team would have continued to mingle in mediocrity. While not perfect, this defense has been the stronger unit. The cornerbacks have been one of the weaker spots, but still not deal-breaking issues.
Would adding Johnson provide the offense a spark? Get the run game going? Force Kenny Pickett to throw better and for Matt Canada to call better plays? No, and because of this, his addition this season wouldn’t have been overly impactful. He would have been a small patch on a ship that is still sinking.
When you add in his contract status as well, it would have made the deal even harder to negotiate. The last thing you want is to give up premium draft picks for a one-year rental on a bad team. Unless a new deal was signed after the trade, there would be a lot of risk in this move for the Steelers.
While I was in favor of adding Johnson if the price was right, I’m also not going to overreact and say that not adding him has doomed the Steelers season. They did that themselves. While adding a young piece to the secondary would have been a welcomed sight, please don’t overreact to this team not trading for Johnson before yesterday’s deadline.