Cold Water Thrown On Idea Of Steelers Pulling Off Big Trade

The Pittsburgh Steelers were very active in the NFL's free agency period immediately after it opened in early March. The team quickly found ways to fill voids at positions on its roster and improve it ahead of the 2026 season. The franchise has been highly praised for its offseason thus far, and deservedly so. The organization was quick to go on the attack as far as bringing in talent to fill voids on the roster for 2026 under new Head Coach Mike McCarthy. On Friday's episode of the North Shore Drive podcast, Brian Batko of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette was asked about more potential moves.

Batko was asked about potentially trading one of three edge rushers in TJ Watt, Alex Highsmith, or Nick Herbig. While a trade is always a possibility involving any player if the package offered moves the needle, Batko believes the team wants to keep its three-headed monster intact in Pittsburgh. Watt specifically would be hard to move considering the extension given to him by the organization. 

"No I don't think so," Batko said. "I think there's always a possibility, you know, if somebody calls up Omar Khan and makes him an offer he can't refuse. It does help to have an edge rusher trio like that. It's not like having three good quarterbacks. You can use all three of those guys plus Jack Sawyer over the course of a game."

Jack Sawyer is an intriguing name-drop by Batko, as he had a great career in college with Ohio State University. Sawyer was selected 123rd overall in the fourth round in the 2025 NFL Draft by the team and has a big, physical presence on the field. 

A 6'4", 260-pound linebacker and edge rusher, Sawyer is a man amongst boys when he is on the field. Adding his presence to the defense on top of the trio Batko was asked about makes for a very tough defense to play against in Pittsburgh.

The front office also signed Jamel Dean and Jaquan Brisker this offseason to help bolster their secondary. Once James Pierre departed the Steel City, the team moved quickly to make two great moves to fill out their secondary following that loss. Pierre had a strong 2025 campaign and really came on strong for the team, but Dean and Brisker were great moves by general manager Omar Khan to quickly fill out some voids on the roster. 

Steelers Moves To Bolster Defense Provides Scary Presence In 2026

The organization has done great job to quickly bolster its defense and the moves did not stop with Dean and Brisker. The franchise also signed Sebastian Joseph-Day, who is a massive presence on the football field. Joseph-Day stands at 6'4" and weighs 310 pounds, which makes for another behemoth up front defensively for Pittsburgh. 

Given how Khan quickly moved to strengthen the defense for the Black and Gold, Batko's comments on potentially moving the aforementioned edge rushers makes plenty of sense. The Steelers will still need to look at adding in the upcoming 2026 NFL Draft to put an exclamation point on their 2026 offseason. 

They are believed to desire going after wide receiver in the draft, but also have a definitive need for offensive line following the departure of Isaac Seumalo. While Brock Hoffman was signed, it is possible that the decision-makers take an offensive lineman in the earlier rounds just to add some depth at the position.

While Batko gave the obvious answer that an overwhelming offer would sway the team to change their mind, the moves made indicate the Steelers are committed to re-tooling rather than rebuilding. Pittsburgh has positioned itself perfectly with their offseason signings, especially given the draft capital they hold. This gives them the flexibility to take the best available player when picking and not reach for someone where it could turn into a potential mistake.

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