Despite reports as late as Tuesday that the Pittsburgh Steelers were aggressively pursuing trade possibilities, the team didn’t make another move.
The Steelers allowed the 2025 NFL trade deadline to pass without acquiring another player on the market. The league’s trade deadline was 4 pm ET on Tuesday.
The Steelers staying with what they have on the roster was surprising. It particular, there seemed to be a strong indication for weeks that the team would add a receiver.
If the Steelers are going to add a wideout now, it will have to be on waivers or in the free agent market.
Mike Tomlin’s club didn’t completely allow the trade deadline to pass without making an addition. Pittsburgh acquired $58 million safety Kyle Dugger from the New England Patriots on October 28.
But even after adding Dugger, pundits continued to suggest the Steelers would be major players in the trade market Tuesday.
Steelers Don’t Acquire WR at NFL Trade Deadline
Pundits have linked Pittsburgh to receivers in the trade market for more than a year. The Steelers acquired D.K. Metcalf in March but then traded George Pickens during May, which again began receiver trade speculation in Pittsburgh.
That speculation continued just about through Tuesday’s deadline. Bleacher Report’s James Palmer reported during a live stream hours before the deadline that the Steelers were shopping the market.
“I’ve been hearing Pittsburgh is definitely out there being aggressive,” Palmer said. “They are looking at different players.”
Apparently, though, the Steelers weren’t aggressive enough to execute a trade. Meanwhile, two veteran receivers moved to new teams before Tuesday’s deadline.
Pittsburgh’s Wide Receiver Depth After Missing on Jakobi Meyers, Rashid Shahid
Throughout the past several weeks, two of the more popular rumored receiver trade targets for Pittsburgh were Jakobi Meyers and Rashid Shahid.
The Steelers acquired neither but not because they weren’t available. The Las Vegas Raiders traded Meyers to the Jacksonville Jaguars while the New Orleans Saints shipped Shahid to the Seattle Seahawks.
Jacksonville landed Meyers for 2026 fourth and sixth-round picks. The Seahawks agreed to send New Orleans 2026 fourth and fifth-rounders for Shahid.
Steelers Nation is likely to be disappointed that the team didn’t acquire a receiver upgrade for Day 3 selections. But both Meyers and Shahid are pending unrestricted free agents.
Two Day 3 picks, including a fourth-rounder, may have been too high a price for general manager Omar Khan to pay for rental receivers.
It’s also not as though the Steelers didn’t just make a wideout addition. On Tuesday, the team signed veteran receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling to the practice squad.
However, Tomlin seemed to minimize that addition Tuesday, which only fueled speculation that the Steelers planned to add another receiver through a trade.
“He’s just a practice squadder right now, so we’ll get him in the fold,” Tomlin told reporters. “Get him working, check his overall level of conditioning, how he learns and some of those things.
“It is not the Dugger discussion. He’s just a practice squad guy.”
The Steelers acquired Dugger from the Patriots out of necessity because of all the injuries the team currently has at safety. Dugger played 77 defensive snaps in his Steelers debut despite not having a full week of practice with the team.
Put another way, Tomlin clearly doesn’t see Valdes-Scantling contributing immediately.
Opposite Metcalf, fourth-year receiver Calvin Austin III will likely continue to start the rest of the season for the Steelers. The team also has wideouts Roman Wilson, Ben Skowronek, Ke’Shawn Williams and Scotty Miller on its active roster.
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