Behind the Steel Curtain
The Steelers are walking a fine line between winning now and setting up their future.
“Complacent” is a word that gets thrown around frequently when critiquing recent Pittsburgh Steelers offseasons.
While that label has felt inaccurate — at least, in terms of roster building — over Omar Khan’s stint as general manager thus far, the team’s Monday trade of Minkah Fitzpatrick for Jonnu Smith and Jalen Ramsey blew any remaining “complacency” criticisms out of the water.
The Steelers aren’t just mildly aggressive — they’re that kid playing Madden who gets bored one offseason and resets the entire roster.
Pittsburgh was already looking adventurous this offseason, but every move had an easily explained motive. Aaron Rodgers over Justin Fields? Pittsburgh didn’t want to commit to paying Fields starting money for the next two years.
Replacing George Pickens with D.K. Metcalf? Pickens had clearly become a player the Steelers wouldn’t re-sign in the first place. They just finalized the move a year early for guaranteed draft capital.
But the Fitzpatrick for Ramsey and Smith trade? That’s the first move that could be interpreted as rash. And the Steelers didn’t even trade an aging defensive star for young, developmental talent or future draft capital, as many have suggested in the past. Nope, it was a 28-year-old Minkah Fitzpatrick for two even older stars.
As many online pointed out, it looked like an NBA trade, not an NFL one.
It’s still defendable, certainly. But there’s a lot that can go wrong.
Back to the “complacent” allegations — the Pittsburgh front office is clearly aware of the team’s past déjà vu Decembers, and they’re not afraid to tear up the roster to try something new. They’re being proactive, and whether or not you agree with the individual moves, it’s the sort of mindset you want to see from a team that hasn’t won a playoff game since the 2016-17 season.
(Coaching is an entirely different article).
But was the Steelers’ Monday trade the right move?
If there were any lingering doubts following the Aaron Rodgers signing, the Steelers are completely all-in for a Super Bowl in 2025. To strip all the nuance from the conversation, they traded one good player and got two good players in return.
But the Steelers still seem like an obvious outlier in the race for a Lombardi. They have a 41-year-old quarterback, razor-thin depth on an already unproven offensive line, and a still no clear WR2.
A lot still has to go very, very right if the Steelers have any shot at competing with the AFC’s elite. And let’s face it — defensive back and tight end are not premium positions for a reason. The trade moves the needle for Pittsburgh, but not all the way to contender status.
Keep in mind, Aaron Rodgers is almost certainly a one-year rental. That makes the Steelers’ decision to trade for players who will be 30 and 31 before midseason, respectively, worth questioning.
Even if the Steelers nail their rookie quarterback pick (absurdly...
