The Pittsburgh Steelers have made some bold moves this offseason, entering their ninth year since their last playoff victory. It’s not a coincidence, as veteran beat reporter Gerry Dulac sees it, and there’s a clear emotion behind the moves. The Steelers, he says, are desperate, and their desperation has made them unpredictable.
In mid-June, Dulac poured cold water over the idea that the Steelers might really trade for Jalen Ramsey. Ten days later, of course, they traded for Ramsey, though it is only just now official. Appearing on the DVE Morning Show yesterday, his hosts asked him about potentially trading for WRW Terry McLaurin. But not without some ribbing first about missing the mark on the previous move.
“What I said about Jalen Ramsey is that I said I didn’t think it would happen, but I put nothing past them, because they are at the desperation stage, and that is apparent”, Dulac said of the Steelers. “They are willing to make any move Mike Tomlin’s willing to make to bring in any player they can to try and win a playoff game”.
The Steelers are in the midst of their longest playoff win drought in the modern era of the NFL. In other words, the modern playoff era. They haven’t won in the postseason since 2016, losing that year in the conference finals. Since then, they are on a six-game losing streak, with four consecutive Wild Card losses. They now have the longest active playoff losing streak in the NFL, tied with the Dolphins and Commanders.
If the Steelers weren’t “desperate”, the fans would certainly let them hear it. They aren’t used to this, at least if they grew up since the ‘60s. The Steelers are one of the model franchises for consistency, but this lack of playoff success is unparalleled for them.
Desperate is the word Dulac used to describe the Steelers, though, and he doubled down. “They are. I’ve said for the past eight months, I rule nothing out with them”, he reiterated. But are the moves they have made indications of desperation, or simply more willingness to deviate from the standard protocol?
In the past, under normal circumstances, the Steelers would never trade a player like Minkah Fitzpatrick. They also rarely acquired players in their 30s, preferring to add up-and-coming pieces for long-term development. James Farrior would be a textbook example, but DK Metcalf could still qualify. And after all, they only traded George Pickens after acquiring Metcalf.
From the outside looking in, desperation is a matter of perception. We don’t know if the Steelers are really behaving desperately, not without insight into their motivations. They are, of course, motivated to break their playoff streak, but they are motivated every year. We’ll never know their true thought process. All we’ll know is how history will record it, and that will be determined by the results of their moves. If they work out, we’ll stop calling these moves of desperation but rather shrewdness.
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