The Pittsburgh Steelers are in the midst of a tough two-game losing streak and now have to prepare to take on arguably the best team in the league on Sunday, as the Indianapolis Colts will be coming to town. After starting the season off 4-1 with a sizable lead in the AFC North, Pittsburgh could find itself 4-4 heading into Week 10. There has been plenty of talk about the Steelers acquiring another top wide receiver before the trade deadline, but there is a serious reality where the Steelers should be considered sellers rather than buyers as the deadline approaches.
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Steelers General Manager Omar Khan signs for and meets with fans during the team's 2025 training camp in Latrobe, PA.
The Steelers have plenty of players that could be traded to bring in some assets that would help the team in the near future, but a lot of those players are older and are signed to bigger contracts -- the type of contracts that are hard to move on the trade market. However, Pittsburgh also does have some young talent that could be considered tradable. One of those players would be defensive lineman Keeanu Benton, who is in the middle of this third season in the league. Analyst Ben Solak proposed that the Kansas City Chiefs should pursue Benton in a recent article for ESPN.
"Steelers defensive tackle Keeanu Benton," Solak wrote. "I'm not sure Pittsburgh is ready to trade the 2023 second-round pick, as he has flashed and remains a starter this season. But Benton has been a liability in run defense and is miscast in his nose tackle responsibilities; he would benefit from playing in a front that's oriented on penetration. The Chiefs need defensive tackle help across the board, so a gamble on Benton feels appropriate."
Pittsburgh deciding to move on from Benton does seem unlikely, but it also makes some sense, especially if the Steelers fall to 4-4 after Week 9. Benton has had a streaky and inconsistent career up to this point, and a lot of that has to do with him being played slightly out of position. Many fans and pundits believe he would be better suited to be a defensive end in a 3-4 scheme, not a nose tackle consistently lined up over the offensive center.
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Steelers defensive lineman Keeanu Benton (95) during 2025 training camp in Latrobe, PA.
Benton should not be playing nose tackle, which is what he does for Pittsburgh in their base defense. It has been said a million times that he would be better off playing defensive tackle, but no changes have been made. A change of scenery might be good for the third-year player, as it may allow him to move to a spot that would be optimal for him to succeed.
Pittsburgh should also be able to get a decently high Day 3 pick in exchange for Benton, maybe even a late-round selection as well. This would be beneficial for the organization as it needs to start looking to the future at some point, which is something it should have started doing two years ago.
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Steelers' Keeanu Benton celebrates a turnover with Nick Herbig against the Browns in Week 14 of the 2024 season.
Steelers' Keeanu Benton Has Shown Some Improvements In 2025
The Steelers' defense has been disappointing as a whole in 2025, especially the defensive front. However, Benton seems to have improved a little bit in his third season. He has already recorded 2.5 sacks after having a disappointing sophomore slump in 2024. With that being said, he still might not be a part of the future plans in Pittsburgh. His final year under contract comes in 2026, and it might be worth it for Pittsburgh to consider trading him to collect more draft capital. This would allow the Steelers to find a replacement, while also giving the organization more assets to potentially land a franchise quarterback.
What do you think about the Steelers potentially trading Benton to the Kansas City Chiefs? Let us know in the comments below!
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