The Pittsburgh Steelers didn’t add any upgrades to their roster through trades at the NFL trade deadline this week. But that wasn’t due to a lack of trying on the part of general manager Omar Khan.
Steelers insider Mark Kaboly reported Wednesday on his podcast that Khan was aggressive at the league’s trade deadline. However, Khan ultimately didn’t execute a trade due to the asking prices.
“There were some guys they were in on pretty deep that stayed put,” Kabolu said on the Kaboly + Mack podcast, via Steelers Depot’s Ross McCorkle. “Do I know the exact names of these people? No, but he went out there, and they tried to upgrade the wide receiver position, and they just weren’t going to sell the farm.
“You sell the farm to a degree if it’s a guy that you know is gonna come in and be a difference maker. When did Jakobi Meyers turn into Jerry Rice?”
Pundits linked the Steelers to Jakobi Meyers, along with several other receivers, before Tuesday. Meyers landed with the Jacksonville Jaguars in a trade hours before the deadline.
Steelers Unwilling to Meet Asking Price to Trade for WR: Report
Kaboly’s report gels with what other pundits were saying Tuesday. Bleacher Report’s James Palmer said hours prior the Steelers were exploring several different potential upgrades.
“I’ve been hearing Pittsburgh is definitely out there being aggressive,” Palmer said. “They are looking at different players.”
Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin certainly teased the possibility of the team making a move.
“We’ll see what happens,” Tomlin said with a smile. “I like shopping.”
But the trade deadline passed at 4 pm ET on Tuesday without the Steelers making another trade.
If the Steelers were going to acquire Meyers, they would have needed to best Jacksonville’s offer. The Jaguars sent 2026 fourth and sixth-round picks to the Las Vegas Raiders for Meyers.
Fellow wideout Rashid Shahid also changed teams through a trade Tuesday. The Seattle Seahawks acquired Shahid from the New Orleans Saints for 2026 fourth and fifth-rounders.
According to Kaboly, the Steelers pursued other receiver targets on the trade market. But other teams didn’t trade those potential targets.
Omar Khan Trusting Steelers Current WRs
Parts of Steelers Nation were very disappointed with the team’s trade deadline inactivity, especially at receiver. Pundits have been calling for the Steelers to add a wideout since the organization traded George Pickens in May.
Kaboly’s report confirms that Khan felt the team needed another receiver in 2025. But making a move just for the sake of doing one isn’t the best strategy.
Overpaying for only a marginal upgrade isn’t a good idea either.
While Calvin Austin III and Roman Wilson are far from household names, they are serviceable in WR2 and WR3 roles for an offense that heavily features three tight ends.
In conclusion, Kaboly said there just very likely wasn’t a trade that made sense for the Steelers.
“I can guarantee you that Omar was working his ass off with these phones trying to find a deal,” Kaboly added. “For him to just step back, we know how much he likes to make some moves, saying ‘Nothing just quite makes sense.’
“Nothing must [have] really not made any sense for him whatsoever.”
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