Insider: Steelers Should Apply Logic From Recent Trade Negotiations And Apply Them Elsewhere

The Pittsburgh Steelers are on their bye week now, which gives General Manager Omar Khan more time to work the phones and try to get a deal done before the November 10th trade deadline. The expectation is that he is looking to add another wide receiver primarily, as injuries and inconsistencies have plagued the team at that position through the first half of the season. Rookie Germie Bernard is arguably the only quality route runner on the roster currently, so Pittsburgh could definitely use another man-coverage beater to help the passing offense thrive. 

Khan's logic is not necessarily wrong, but that line of thinking could be applied elsewhere. While making an appearance on 93.7 The Fan, Nick Farabaugh spoke about the parallels in wide receiver and another position of need.

"I think we can easily make the exact argument that they should trade for a cornerback because I think we can all see the cracks in the pass defense," Farabaugh said. "Even this past week, where we saw [Jaquan] Brisker get beat over the top a few times by [Harold] Fannin; you saw a few opportunities Deshaun Watson missed. This team tried to play a lot of man-to-man coverage last week, and it worked... but against Trevor Lawrence, against Joe Burrow, against those levels of quarterbacks, I think that could be an issue."

The Steelers were planning to play a lot of press man coverage, but that changed when they had to trade Joey Porter Jr. away after failing to negotiate with him and having all that drama. There is a very clear concern about this team's ability to press up, as Defensive Coordinator Patrick Graham has opted to play very soft coverage. He clearly is not confident in his cornerback room's ability to cover a guy starting at the line of scrimmage. 

Farabaugh continued on and named a few cornerback options that the Steelers could target in the open market, including an old friend. 

"I think there's options out there at corner," Farabaugh said. "Not great ones, but there's enough: Riq Woolen from the Eagles. You want to go back to the Colts? Charvarius Ward, I think is an interesting name to point out. You can even go for old friend if you want to go to the LA Chargers, go back and get Donte Jackson, who's having a pretty good year out there."

This is definitely an interesting list of names that Farabaugh threw out there. Reuniting with Donte Jackson would seem like the best idea, as he played well in Pittsburgh whenever he was actually on the field. The problem, however, is that he is hurt yet again, as he has missed the past three games with a hamstring issue, so Khan may just want to stay away from there. 

Riq Woolen, meanwhile, is a very boom-or-bust cornerback. He can shut down opposing receivers, or he gets beaten for a big gain. So far in 2026, he has allowed 15 yards per completion and three touchdowns while also holding opposing quarterbacks to an under 60% completion rate. That sort of inconsistency may not be what the Steelers want, as he is on pace to have the worst year of his career.

Steelers Should Ask About Thriving Veteran

On the flip side, 30-year-old Charvarius Ward is having a career year by allowing a 42.4% completion percentage while playing 89% of defensive snaps. It's unclear how long he can keep this play up, but since the Indianapolis Colts are in a fire sale and have been shipping off better players for cheap, Khan should at least see if he can't get a bargain deal on the cornerback. Maybe he could help the Steelers play tighter coverage.

What do you think about the Steelers needing to address cornerback the same way they do with receiver? Let us know on X at @Steelers_ChrisB.

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