Prepare yourselves for my least popular opinion of the year. Omar Khan, Mike Tomlin, and the Pittsburgh Steelers stood pat at deadline day. Countering weeks, months really, of speculation that the team would add a wide receiver, Pittsburgh failed to boost the passing game or any other position.
Perhaps not for a lack of trying. Had Travis Hunter not suffered a freak practice injury, the Jacksonville Jaguars might not have pushed for Jakobi Meyers, and the Steelers might’ve landed him instead. But results are the results, and the team’s 53-man roster is unchanged from yesterday to today. The only moves Pittsburgh made were a practice squad shakeup. Mark Robinson and Daequan Hardy – go crazy.
A shiny new player would’ve created buzz and excitement to feed into the team’s Week 9 win over the Indianapolis Colts. It’s easy to look at this group and imagine it being one piece away. But a trade wasn’t needed. The group Pittsburgh has assembled is one that can win without outside aid.
Wide receiver was the obvious suggestion. On paper, it’s understandable. Calvin Austin III has just 19 receptions this season and the depth chart behind DK Metcalf has just 31 catches. Roman Wilson made a significant error with a fourth-quarter fumble against the Indianapolis Colts. But the construction of this offseason is different than most—one where the No. 2 receiver isn’t a focal point.
The tight ends and running backs receive more attention, not in spite of Pittsburgh lacking talent, but as a feature of Arthur Smith’s offense. That role simply isn’t as valuable as other systems or Pittsburgh’s days of yesterday that lined up with three receivers and had Ben Roethlisberger throw the ball around the yard all day.
Austin, to his credit, has played well. He’s done everything the team has asked. He’s shown his speed, made tough catches, blocked hard, and played with great effort and selflessness—the latter needed given the reduced role. I’ve been critical of his game in the past but the growth he’s displayed is commendable.
Wilson has come on stronger with some of the best games of his (albeit limited) career. Adding a receiver would reduce their playing time, production, and growth.
Could that be worth it? Sure, with the goal to win now. However, a No. 2 would be less impactful for all the reasons mentioned above. Catching a moving train with Aaron Rodgers isn’t easy, either. Even as Rodgers reunited with Davante Adams last season, the Jets’ offense didn’t find its spark. A true outsider like Meyers, Shaheed or someone else (except Allen Lazard, which hardly would’ve been a needle-mover) would make for a taller mountain to climb.
This offense is working. It’s 12th in scoring and seventh in the red zone. The offensive line is growing, the running game looking better. The pieces are there.
Pittsburgh saw last season with Mike Williams that a mid-season addition doesn’t produce the results you think or hope. Giving up a fifth-round pick for him proved to be a bad deal. Granted, Meyers or Shaheed offered more talent, and Pittsburgh’s offense is in a better place to fold in a new face, at least compared to last season. But what looks “right” on paper doesn’t always play out on the field.
The prices for these players weren’t cheap. Meyers for a fourth and a sixth. Shaheed for a fourth and a fifth. Not quite the Day-Two selections the media pushed for in the last few days, which always felt like posturing anyway, but good hauls for players on expiring contracts on selling teams.
The Steelers wanted to hold onto their draft capital. Not just for the prospect of making the move for a first-round quarterback next season. That gets the headline, but it’s not the only reason. Frankly, Day Three picks matter little when it comes to these kinds of deals.
More so, Omar Khan wants to utilize an unusually large amount of projected draft picks to add youth to the roster. A wave of young players to balance out what was an AARP offseason. It’s why the deal for Minkah Fitzpatrick involved 2027 picks, not 2026, why George Pickens’ deal happened after the draft, and why Khan made sure to get a pick back in the Dugger deal to at least have the same number of draft picks. Even if the haul is a little less impressive.
It’s trendy and easy to “buy” in these situations. That’s where instinct takes you. It’s Mike Tomlin’s mindset. But the moves still have to be the “right” ones. That doesn’t always present itself.
Pittsburgh has the group to win. The Steelers are 5-3 and beat the top two teams in the AFC – the New England Patriots and Indianapolis Colts. The group must find consistency and stay healthy. Those are the keys. It’s time to be confident in the coalition that’s been pieced together—an offseason of aggressive, “un-Steelers-like” moves. There’s always the what-if, and unless Pittsburgh hoists the Lombardi by year’s end, it’ll be easy to look back and think Khan was too conservative. That fear can’t force a deal.
Sometimes, the best moves are the ones you don’t make. Omar Khan is dancing with the group he brought. Good on him.
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