Category: Football

Can you believe we’ve reached three episodes? Which of these three contestants will advance to the final Round of 5?

The Steelers are in desperate need of a new franchise quarterback. In the weeks leading up to the 2025 college football season, we’ll be examining some of the top college quarterbacks eligible for the 2026 draft. However, we’re going to have some fun along the way. All responses from the “players” in this article are fictitious and stem from my own analysis, which is why some of the answers will offer analysis you would never hear a media-trained quarterback say. If you complain about this feature in the comments, just know that you’re a lint-licker.

If you’re looking for further explanation/context for this series, read our past entries, including:

• The series primer
• Vol. 1 Mr. Fantastic, the Natural, and the Lonestar Kid
• Vol. 2 Superman, Mr. Cool, and the Untamed

“Welcome to the Steelers QB Dating Game! Anddddd here’s your host, Steely McBeam!”

Steely McBeam: Welcome back, welcome back. Can you believe we’re still on air, folks? We had a tight race last week, much tighter than our first episode. With 53% of the vote, “Superman” LaNorris Sellers is moving on to the finale. One man here will join him. Who will it be? Let’s meet our contestants!

Prince Charming

Steely McBeam: If you’re looking for experience, you’re barking up the wrong tree with our first contestant. This signal caller might be green, but many already view him as the Prince Who Was Promised. Raised in New Orleans, this passer was the number one recruit in the nation* and has an experienced team around him. If we’re being completely honest, there’s a fairly substantial chance that his circle will advise him against coming out after just one season as a starter. We’ve only seen a small sample of him so far, but at 6’4 and 216 pounds, with a plus arm talent and mobility, he sure looks the part. Let’s get a round of applause for Prince Charming!

*All recruit ranks are via 247Sports

Casey Jones

Steely McBeam: Our next contestant gets his name from the Grateful Dead song of the same name. Watching his 2024 season was a thrilling and sometimes stupefying ride that I highly recommend to fans of gunslingers, and warn against for the faint of heart. Yet another native Texan in our series, this quarterback’s playstyle is reminiscent of a style of backyard quarterbacking that was prevalent in the region he grew up in. Fans might recognize what I’m talking about in the games of quarterbacks like Baker Mayfield, Kyler Murray, Patrick Mahomes, and Johnny Manziel, all players who led teams within a 5-hour drive from his hometown. And at 6’1 and 224 pounds, he resembles many of them in size as well. He was only a three-star recruit and just the 124th-ranked quarterback. In his first two years, he saw little playing time as he sat behind eventual No. 1 overall pick Cam Ward. Once he was finally given the reins, he proved that even though he can be chaotic at times, he seems to be right a little more often than he’s wrong. He parlayed his 2024 season into a transfer to the SEC. Let’s give it up for Casey Jones!

Slim

Steely McBeam: Our final contestant grew up on the West Coast and started his college journey there. The 7th-ranked quarterback in the country coming out of high school, he sat during his freshman year and then followed his head coach to a new team in the Big 10 in 2024. At just 19 years old, he was given the starting job for a team that had its last winning season in 2021 and was at its strongest in the early 2010s. Results were mixed in year one, but that isn’t entirely unexpected for a rebuilding program and a young signal caller. A dual-threat whose game is reminiscent of the Arizona State era of Jayden Daniels’ college career, consistency with his mechanical process and decision making will be key areas to evaluate for him in 2025. Standing 6’3 and 217 pounds, let’s hear it for Slim!

Steely McBeam: As always, we like to start by having each of our contestants describe their 2024 season. Take it away, gentlemen.

Prince Charming: I can start since it’ll be short. Overall, my team had an incredibly successful season, making it all the way to the semifinals of the college football playoff. I played a rather small role in that, however, appearing in seven games with just two starts.

I got my first major playing time in Week 3 when our starting quarterback went down to injury. I immediately displayed all the promise that made me a top recruit, running for a 67-yard touchdown and completing a 9-of-12 passes for 223 yards and four touchdowns, albeit against a less prestigious school from a smaller conference.

Our opponent in my starting debut was also from a smaller school, and though we won 51-3, my performance was up and down. I lost 4 yards on my only rushing attempt, and I completed just 51.7% of my passes for 258 yards, 2 touchdowns and 2 interceptions. Three drops made my day look a little rougher than it was — my completion percentage would have been 62.0% had they been caught — but it wasn’t a flawless game on my part and we were bolstered by a 4-touchdown game from our running back.

My second start, and last major action, came against one of the worst secondaries in all of college football. I capitalized, posting an 83.9% completion rate for 325 yards, 2 touchdowns and zero interceptions. I added 33 rushing yards and a touchdown on the ground as we cruised to a 35-13 win.

Now, in 2025, the team will be all mine to lead, and I hope to build off the flashes I showed in 2024.

Casey Jones: That’s a great feeling, man. That’s what 2024 was to me. There has been a lot of turbulence around my first school in recent years, ranging from a coaching legend departing for a more powerful conference, to another coach leaving over Covid-compliance, to our athletic director bailing on us for our rival school, to our conference nearly dissolving altogether.

That program has a losing record all-time and has recently struggled to do more than hover around .500. I led us to an 8-4 season, though the season ended with a four-game losing streak, including a bowl game I didn’t play in. Despite the disappointing end to the season, we finished as the 6th-ranked scoring offense in the country with 36.6 points per game. Prior to bowl season, I led the entire nation in combined touchdowns with 29 through the air and 15 on the ground.

When my offensive coordinator announced he was leaving to take the same position at an SEC school, I hit the transfer portal and followed him. With a step up in competition coming this year, a strong performance could vault me into the Day 1 conversation. If not, I have another year of eligibility I can fall back on.

Slim: As I mentioned before, I was the handpicked quarterback for my coach as he switched from our former school to our present one. Things started off great as we started the season off 3-0. That came against two smaller schools and a conference opponent who finished the year 1-8 in conference play. The rest of the season was a struggle, however, as we would only win two more games the rest of the way. The losses were particularly brutal, too. While two of our losses were by only one score, the rest were blowouts, with our losses coming by an average of 21.3 points.

A large slice of the blame can be given to our offensive line. The line lacked quality depth to begin with, not unusual in the first year of a new coaching staff. From that foundation, injuries and ineffectiveness led to a constantly rearranged starting lineup that struggled to gel. PFF graded our pass blocking as the 10th-worst in the country — out of 134 schools — and our running blocking didn’t fare much better at 23rd-worst. To paint an even clearer picture for you, my 38.2% pressure percentage was the 15th-most in the nation.

Despite this, I put some impressive highlights on tape. I’m a slippery and elusive runner, and when I’m given time in the pocket and can keep my footwork clean, I’ve got some tantalizing ability to layer and pinpoint passes that should have talent evaluators encouraged. The 2025 season will be all about showing that I can take a big step forward with better circumstances around me.

Steely McBeam: Let’s stick to that topic and discuss how each of you handles pressure in your face. Slim, you faced significantly more pressure, so let’s start back up with you.

Slim: Like much of my season, the results were a mixed bag. On the one hand, I was able to keep my pressure-to-sack rate at a respectable figure, considering the constant pressure I was under. Elsewhere, five other passers in this series have a lower completion percentage than I did under pressure, and three others were only better by 1.1 percentage points or fewer. My plus-mobility should help me improve in that regard in 2025, when I’m expected to have a more competent and healthy offensive line. However, I did turn the ball over four times, despite ranking 8th out of the 15 passers in this series for turnover-worthy play rate.

Casey Jones: My profile is also a bit over the map. I had zero interceptions on plays where I was pressured according to PFF, and I managed to toss 5 touchdowns in these scenarios. Only two passers in this series had a lower turnover-worthy play rate than me, and one other passer — the winner of our first episode — had the same rate as me. On the flip side, only one other quarterback was sacked more than me. As I mentioned up top, I play a backyard style of football with a lightning-quick sidearm release. This can lead to some exciting highlights, but — much like Russell Wilson and Justin Fields — it can also play into our offense’s downfall when I’m not able to escape the pressure, and in some cases, I create that pressure for myself.

Prince Charming: Listen, I only faced 26 pressures last year and we can’t possible judge anything from that.

Steely McBeam: But didn’t you have 7 sacks from those 26 pressures? I’m not a math guy, but that seems like a fairly—

Prince Charming: Hahaha, oh Steely, you jokester. No, no conclusions should be drawn from that. And besides, have you seen me run? Give me a full season, and I’ll prove that was just a flukey sample.

Steely McBeam: Oh god, you are impressive. Well let’s talk about you guys as runners. Slim, you’re the dual-threat guy, surely you led this group in rushing?

Slim: Acutally, that was —

Casey Jones: Wrong again, Mr. Beam Man. Like the quarterbacks I grew up watching in my region, I’m deceptively fast. Your boy can scoot! In fact, I’m the only quarterback in this series to top 1,000 yards on the ground.* For this series, my elusiveness rating and 54 missed tackles forced also leave the rest of my competition in the dust.

*When excluding yards lost from sacks, which count against NCAA rushing totals

Prince Charming: Again, I just didn’t play enough, but I’ll once again remind you I reeled off a 67-yard scoring scamper just a few plays into my first major action.

Steely McBeam: Well, yinz, these signal callers have made their cases. Two of the three are likely to return to school in 2027, although all three have the option. Casey Jones is the most likely to declare, but has he impressed you enough to ward off the potential of our other two contestants? That’s up to you! Let’s fully reveal our candidates!

Prince Charming — Arch Manning, Texas

Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Casey Jones — John Mateer, Oklahoma

Photo by Soobum Im/Getty Images

Slim — Aidan Chiles, Michigan State

Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images

Steely McBeam: Make your voice heard! Vote in our poll below, and be share to share with your friends and family so we can get their votes counted too!

What are your thoughts on these prospects? Let us know in the comments! And keep an eye out for future “episodes” in the coming weeks.

The Steelers veteran shared his raw reaction to Minkah Fitzpatrick being traded to the Miami Dolphins

The dust is finally beginning to settle on one of the biggest trades of the NFL offseason. The Pittsburgh Steelers acquired star cornerback Jalen Ramsey, tight end Jonnu Smith, and a 2027 seventh-round pick from the Miami Dolphins in exchange for three-time all-pro safety Minkah Fitzpatrick and a 2027 fifth-round pick. The move makes what is already a star-studded defense in Pittsburgh that much more interesting. Adding Ramsey to a cornerback room that already includes veteran Darius Slay and Joey Porter Jr. makes this one of the better groups at the position in the league.

Now that everyone has had some time to digest the trade, we are getting an idea of how some Steelers players are reacting to this deal. Longtime Steelers captain Cam Heyward shared his reaction to the deal on his podcast Not Just Football

“The way we heard about it first it was we traded for Jalen Ramsey and we are like alright that’s cool,” Heyward said. “You got Minkah [Fitzpatrick], you got the DeShon [Elliott], you got Joey [Porter Jr.], you got [Darius] Slay, but now you got to play and now you have Jalen Ramsey and you think like, ‘damn that’s going to be really cool to see that those DB’s just fly around.’ And then, [I] got the gut check of losing a really good teammate in Minkah Fitzpatrick and I’m like, ‘damn, like I don’t know how to feel about this.’ It’s bittersweet. You know I’ve enjoyed playing with him, and I was kind of just shook by it all.”

It was a very honest and open reaction from Heyward, who has played with Fitzpatrick since 2019. It was clearly tough for the future Hall of Famer to watch someone he respected as much as Fitzpatrick be dealt. However, Heyward later went on to say that although he will miss Fitzpatrick and his presence, he is excited about his new teammates.

“I’m excited about the new teammates, but I’m also sad to be losing a guy that I really respect in the locker room,” Heyward said.

Fitzpatrick had what will likely be the best seasons of his career with Pittsburgh, earning Pro Bowl honors five times and winning over the hearts of many fans. The Steelers are sending Fitzpatrick back to where he was drafted with the 11th selection of the 2018 NFL Draft, and getting back two highly productive players as they continue to make moves that suggest they are pushing for a deep playoff run in 2025.

The new Steelers cornerback will cost Pittsburgh just under $20 million this season.

For some Pittsburgh Steelers fans, the trade still might not feel real.

In one of the most shocking and unexpected deals in franchise history, the Steelers dealt All-Pro safety Minkah Fitzpatrick to the Miami Dolphins for All-Pro cornerback Jalen Ramsey and Pro Bowl tight end Jonnu Smith. The deal also included a 2027 late-round pick swap.

Both Dolphins were subject to rumors around the Steelers, but nothing concrete enough to think a trade could happen for one, let alone both high-impact contributors.

One day later, Ramsey gave a first-hand view of this new reality.

Ramsey posted two pictures on Twitter/X, one of a black hat with a golf smiley face, and the other a No. 5 Ramsey jersey.

If you’re looking to buy or customize a Ramsey jersey, it appears No. 5 is his choice.

Many people didn’t expect the Steelers to award single-digit numbers to non-quarterbacks and kickers, but Patrick Queen (6), DK Metcalf (4), and Ramsey have set new standards with Omar Khan at the helm.

Ramsey reached seven consecutive Pro Bowls after finishing second in Rookie of the Year voting in 2016. 2024 was the first year since Ramsey’s rookie campaign that he didn’t make the Pro Bowl.

He earned All-Pro honors with the Jacksonville Jaguars (2017) and back-to-back years with the LA Rams (2020-21), winning Super Bowl LVI.

Ramsey grabbed two interceptions, recorded 11 passes defended, and 60 tackles in Miami last year, playing all 17 games. He owns 24 interceptions and six forced fumbles in 135 games between the Jags, Rams, and Dolphins.

Khan has been aggressive, adding pieces around Aaron Rodgers and altering Mike Tomlin’s defense.

The Steelers host the Dolphins on Monday Night Football in Week 15 on December 15.

It’s been nearly a month since Gabe Davis visited the Steelers. While the veteran wide receiver didn’t immediately put pen to paper, it sounds like he remains a target for the organization. According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, Davis is “still an option” for Pittsburgh.

[RELATED: Steelers To Host WR Gabe Davis]

Fowler adds that the wideout “really enjoyed” his visit with the franchise back in June. However, Davis is expected to take his time deciding on his next landing spot, with Fowler suggesting that a signing could come closer to training camp.

Davis was a popular name after getting cut by the Jaguars in May. In addition to the Steelers, the 26-year-old met with the 49ers, Giants, and Saints. The receiver’s free agency tour ended with that New Orleans visit in early June, and we can assume each of those suitors remain in the race for the veteran’s services.

Davis inked a three-year, $39MM deal with the Jaguars last offseason, but he only lasted one season in Jacksonville before earning his walking papers. His 2024 campaign represented one of the worst seasons of his career, as the wideout compiled career-lows in receptions (20), receiving yards (239), and receiving touchdowns (two). Teams are still clearly banking on the player’s Buffalo performance, where he hauled in 27 touchdowns across four seasons. This included a 2022 campaign where the former fourth-round pick hauled in 48 catches for 836 yards.

The Steelers are naturally operating as if Davis won’t be on their squad in 2025, and this means they’re eyeing a group of receivers behind new WR1 D.K. Metcalf. As ESPN’s Brooke Pryor writes, Calvin Austin III currently appears to be in the lead for the team’s WR2 role.

The former fourth-round pick had a strong sophomore season, finishing with 36 catches for 548 yards and four touchdowns. The organization is confident he can hit another level, with receivers coach Zach Azzanni declaring during minicamp that the second receiver role was “Calvin’s right now.”

As Pryor notes, Austin will still have to build a rapport with Aaron Rodgers, which will go a long way in determining the receiver hierarchy. The third-year player will be competing with the likes of Robert Woods, Scotty Miller, Roman Wilson, and Ben Skowronek for reps behind Metcalf.

Veteran wide receiver Tyler Boyd said over the weekend that he would “absolutely” like to sign with the Steelers, and apparently, the interest is mutual.

The Steelers have been in touch with Boyd this offseason, according to Mark Kaboly of the Pat McAfee Show, but the veteran receiver has been unsatisfied with the financial offers from Pittsburgh or any other team.

“The word on the street is that all the offers [Boyd is] getting, they’re not very good offers, as in money-wise, so he’s going to play it out,” said Kaboly during a recent episode of the Kaboly + Mack podcast. Kaboly suggested the same was true regarding whatever discussions the Steelers have had with Boyd, whether they have included a formal offer or just more general conversations about potential compensation.

There are other available receivers like Amari Cooper and Keenan Allen with better recent track records than Boyd, so he may have to wait for them to find a landing spot before another team meets his demands. He earned just under $2.4MM in Tennessee last year, per OverTheCap, for the worst full-season performance of his career with just 39 receptions for 390 yards. He also went the entire season – 16 games, eight starts, and 635 snaps – without finding the end zone, an unfortunate career-first, causing him to miss out on $2.1MM of available incentives.

Now, Boyd may have to consider a veteran minimum salary of $1.255MM with additional money available via incentives, and unlike his deal with the Titans, his next contract may not include any guaranteed money.

The Pittsburgh Steelers defense was saved by Minkah Fitzpatrick

The Pittsburgh Steelers’ defense of the 2010s was largely dreadful. They won games in spite of that unit, not because of it. And while they began to turn things around by drafting T.J. Watt in 2017 and signing Joe Haden in 2018, Pittsburgh still needed a momentum-changer in the form of a splash play artist.

Enter Minkah Fitzpatrick.

After losing Ben Roethlisberger for the entire season in Week 2 of the 2019 season, the Steelers traded their 2020 first-round pick to the Miami Dolphins for the young safety, making it known they weren’t punting on the season. Rather, they were going to lean on their defense to win games, and Fitzpatrick helped them do just that. In his first game as a Steeler against the San Francisco 49ers, Fitzpatrick had an interception off Jimmy Garoppolo. And while the Steelers ended up falling to the 49ers, Fitzpatrick and the defense helped the Steelers rally from an 0-3 start into the playoff picture.

Pittsburgh would go on to win eight of its next 10 games. Over that season, Fitzpatrick picked off four passes, the most notable being a 96-yard pick-six off Brian Hoyer to help Pittsburgh defeat the Indianapolis Colts. This was the first of three interceptions returned for touchdowns that Fitzpatrick would accumulate during his time in a Steelers uniform. He also added a fumble return for a touchdown in 2019 against the Los Angeles Rams.

The defining game of his career, in my opinion, came in Week 1 of the 2022 season against the Cincinnati Bengals. Fitzpatrick had a pick-six off Joe Burrow on the first defensive series of the season. He also led the team with 14 tackles and blocked what would have been the game-winning extra point to send the game into overtime, where the Steelers would win on a last-second field goal from Chris Boswell in one of the most insane games in franchise history.

His three All-Pro selections from 2019-22 were tied for the most among all safeties in the NFL, and he solidified himself as one of the best Steelers defenders of the last 25 years. In an era where the offense was awful and the defense had to do all the heavy lifting, Fitzpatrick was one of those guys who held the most weight. Salute to No. 39 for all he did in a Steelers uniform.

The three-time All-Pro has just one interception over the last two seasons

The Pittsburgh Steelers made yet another huge trade on Monday, acquiring star cornerback Jalen Ramsey and Pro Bowl tight end Jonnu Smith from the Miami Dolphins. However, in doing so, the Steelers traded three-time All-Pro safety Minkah Fitzpatrick back to the team from which they acquired him.

While there has been speculation on why the Steelers were willing to part ways with the star safety, Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that the lack of splash plays over the last two years was part of the Steelers being okay with moving on.

“[The] Steelers were not actively trying to trade Minkah Fitzpatrick, but they were willing to listen to any team who showed interest,” Dulac said on X. “They felt the absence of splash plays the past two years was not commensurate with what they were paying him.”

From 2019-22, Fitzpatrick had 17 interceptions and led all safeties in All-Pro selections. Over the last two seasons, though, he intercepted just one pass, and his impact took a noticeable step back. With 2025 being the final year of Fitzpatrick’s deal, it also felt unlikely that the Steelers would re-sign him.

The two greatest quarterbacks in Steelers history are consensus top 20 QBs

Over the last several months, I put together a panel to rank the Top 30 quarterbacks of the Super Bowl era, in honor of this coming Super Bowl being the 60th playing of the biggest game of the year.

The list has begun its three-part release over on SB Nation, and the panel consisted of the following people:

• Jarrett Bailey, SB Nation
• Tyler Dunne, Go Long
• Eric Edholm, NFL Media
• Doug Farrar, Athlon Sports
• Arif Hasan, Wide Left
• Dan Hanzus, Underdog
• Sam Monson, The 33rd Team
• Steve Palazzolo, The 33rd Team
• Gregg Rosenthal, NFL Media
• Aaron Schatz, FTN Fantasy
• Marc Sessler, Underdog
• Mike Tanier, Too Deep Zone
• Matt Verderame, Sports Illustrated

After tallying up all the votes, both Ben Roethlisberger and Terry Bradshaw ranked as top 20 quarterbacks, with Bradshaw coming in at No. 13.

“A four-time Super Bowl champion, Bradshaw was the cornerstone of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 1970s dynasty, earning MVP honors in Super Bowls XIII and XIV,” Eric Edholm writes. “His 27,989 passing yards and 212 touchdowns are fairly modest sums by modern standards, but they compare favorably to his contemporaries. What set Bradshaw apart was his knack for clutch performances, including a 64.7% completion rate in Super Bowl wins. His combination of arm strength, mobility, and big-game poise makes him a deserving member of the top 30 quarterbacks in the Super Bowl era.”

Roethlisberger finished right in front of Bradshaw at No. 12, and I did the tribute from the panel portion of his section.

“From a personal standpoint, I don’t know if I’m doing this for a living if not for Ben Roethlisberger. Growing up a Steelers fan, he made me fall in love with the game of football, and is a large reason why I pursued a career covering the NFL. With every pump fake, every extended play, every defender shaken off to avoid a would-be sack, every fourth quarter comeback, and every championship won, Big Ben was simultaneously one of the best quarterbacks of all-time and one of the most underrated.”

“Roethlisberger never got the admiration of a Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, or Drew Brees. Yet, he has a higher playoff winning percentage than both Manning and Brees, the same number of Super Bowl wins as Manning, and is one of just 13 quarterbacks to start in three or more Super Bowls. He is also a two-time passing yards leader and is eighth all-time in touchdown passes (418). For nearly two decades, it didn’t matter who the Steelers played, you knew they always had a shot because No. 7 was under center, and I’ll die on the hill that he is a top 10 quarterback of all-time.”

Part I and Part II are out now, and the final edition will be coming very soon.

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 huge “if”) after Rodgers retires in 2026, that quarterback likely won’t have the team in a Super Bowl window until his sophomore season, 2027. By then, at midseason Ramsey would be 33 and Smith, 32.

Cornerback and receiving tight end are two positions that are heavily reliant on athleticism. It’s hard to age gracefully. Of course, Ramsey can and likely will switch to safety to prolong his career, but Fitzpatrick was already a good, proven player at that position — and around two years younger.

And while Ramsey provides cap savings in 2025, his cap hit rises to around $17.7 million in 2026 and $19.5 million in 2027. Per Spotrac, the Steelers can get out of most of Ramsey’s deal after this year, but he’s not a notable discount compared to Fitzpatrick in future seasons.

Where Ramsey does help the Steelers is his willing versatility. He’ll likely play in the slot over Beanie Bishop Jr. in 2025, with Juan Thornhill taking over Fitzpatrick’s free safety duties. That gives the Steelers a potentially stronger starting 11 on defense than the team would’ve had with Fitzpatrick. And with three good corners, the team should find ways to be more creative with their secondary than in years past.

There’s still a lot to like, and acquiring Jonnu Smith as well as Ramsey for Fitzpatrick made the deal even more palatable.

Jonnu Smith is a longtime Arthur Smith acquaintance, beginning his career when the now-Steelers offensive coordinator was the tight ends coach for the Tennessee Titans. He even spent a season in Atlanta in 2023 when Arthur Smith was the Falcons’ head coach.

Interestingly, Jonnu Smith earned his first career Pro Bowl nod last year playing for the Dolphins — a team with a talented wide receiver duo — not Arthur Smith’s Steelers. The good news is, despite his age, he’s coming off the best season of his career.

That season was also the first time he’s broken 600 yards in his eight years in the NFL. The Dolphins, whether it works out or not, were selling high.

Jonnu Smith’s fit in the Steelers offense is intriguing, at least. The Steelers like to run tight end-heavy sets, and Smith was one of the best pass-catchers at his position last year.

But he’s not a plus blocker. And neither is Pat Freiermuth, the Steelers’ presumed TE1. To make 12- and 13-personnel offenses work, you have to be able to establish the run to justify it. The Steelers were one of the least efficient rushing offenses in the NFL last year, and Jonnu Smith doesn’t do much to improve that.

Darnell Washington, a very good blocker, is part of the equation, of course. But running 13 personnel where only one of the three tight ends is an impact player in the run game makes for a concerning offensive philosophy.

Jonnu Smith should still make the Steelers’ offense better. Pro Bowl tight ends tend to do that. But the Steelers are building a tight end-heavy team that doesn’t specialize in running the ball. If that’s the case, why not just trade for a WR2?

Again, it’s hard to see Monday’s trade as something that helps the Steelers significantly in the short term. And long term, it looks like a lot of fireworks that still keep the team on a similar trajectory as before.

However, the flip side is that this wasn’t a particularly risky trade by the Steelers despite the shock value.

Not a single piece of 2026 draft capital (or a high 2027 pick, for that matter) was used to acquire Ramsey and Smith. And even if Fitzpatrick was a better fit for the team’s long-term plans, he’s still on the edge of 30 and no longer playing his best football. It’s not a back-breaking loss.

Even if the trade blows up in Pittsburgh’s face, with Smith and Ramsey becoming uninspiring one-year rentals and Fitzpatrick making a few more Pro Bowls in Miami, the Steelers aren’t in a significantly worse spot than they would’ve been entering 2026.

Heading into next offseason, the Steelers still have a load of draft picks, a good receiving tight end in Pat Freiermuth, and the cap space to sign a good safety and more.

But that’s looking incredibly far ahead. As with any trade, we won’t know who truly “won” until the season starts. For now, it looks like a surprisingly low-risk move to improve the team’s championship odds in 2025.

But it could just as easily be a valuable trade resource wasted on an ill-fated Super Bowl attempt rather than the inevitable rebuild approaching in 2026.

Think you can figure out which Steelers player we’re talking about? You’ll get five clues to figure him out in our new guessing game!

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MMA in-5

Behind the Steel Curtain in-5 instructions

The goal of the game is to guess the correct Steelers player with the help of up to five clues. We’ll mix in BOTH ACTIVE AND RETIRED PLAYERS. It won’t be easy to figure it out in one or two guesses, but some of you might be able to nail it.

After you correctly guess the player, you can click “Share Results” to share how you did down in the comments and on social media. We won’t go into other details about the game as we’d like your feedback on it. How it plays, what you think of it, the difficulty level, and anything else you can think of that will help us improve this game. You can provide feedback in the comments of this article, or you can fill out this Google Form.

Enjoy!