Steelers at a Crossroads: Should Pittsburgh buy or sell before trade deadline?

Every NFL team faces this burning question each year: should they be buyers or sellers at the NFL trade deadline? For some organizations, the answer is easy. Teams like the Chiefs, for example, have a world-class quarterback and lead the AFC. They might just be a dynamic playmaker away from being Super Bowl contenders once again. Other teams like the Panthers are clearly in a rebuild and the decision to stockpile draft capital for a rebuild is an easy one.

But what about the Pittsburgh Steelers? What do you do with a team that sits on a 3-2 record, but statistically has been one of the worst squads in the league so far this year? The answer is not so cut and dry.

The choice that seems obvious -- and the one that most fans would agree with -- is that Pittsburgh should be buying at the NFL trade deadline. This is something they have done in the past under the direction of former GM Kevin Colbert.

In 2019, the Steelers made a blockbuster trade for former blue-chip safety prospect, Minkah Fitzpatrick. The Miami Dolphins were struggling at the time and Minkah wasn't a great fit in Brian Flores' defense. This move obviously panned out in a big way for Pittsburgh, as Minkah would quickly go on to earn First-Team All-Pro honors three times.

Last year, however, it was the opposite story for new Steelers GM Omar Khan. In one of his first orders of business, Khan was a seller at the deadline -- shipping WR Chase Claypool to the Bears for a second-round pick that turned out to be the 32nd overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft (and was used to select CB Joey Porter Jr.).