Steelers didn't trade for a receiver but believe they can still win by spreading the wealth

Ray Fittipaldo, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Nov 5, 2025

Published in Football

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PITTSBURGH — Antonio Brown once assaulted a Gatorade cooler when he wasn’t getting enough passes thrown his way from Ben Roethlisberger. George Pickens threw even more temper tantrums when he wasn’t getting fed enough.

The Steelers do not currently have any diva receivers on their roster and they kept it that way when they did not acquire anyone at the NFL trade deadline on Tuesday.

Under offensive coordinator Arthur Smith and quarterback Aaron Rodgers, the Steelers have developed an identity with their multiple personnel packages that feature a wide array of players who are capable of helping the team win each week. And that’s the way they’ll remain as they begin the second half of the season Sunday night in Los Angeles.

“What I’ve learned about the trade deadline is there’s a lot of conversation and rarely is there a lot of action,” Rodgers said following Wednesday’s practice. “ ... We’re not a big three-receiver team in general. There was probably more noise outside the facility than inside the facility.”

One of the reasons the marriage between Smith and Rodgers is working is their shared philosophy on how to run an NFL offense. They see the game from the same perspective, and there is chemistry when they put together a game plan and call sheet on a weekly basis.

Where some coaches and quarterbacks might try to force opportunities to DK Metcalf, Smith and Rodgers are content to have others contribute when Metcalf is taken out of games with double coverage:

— Thirteen Steelers have caught passes from Rodgers this season.

— Nine have caught touchdowns.

— Eight have at least 100 receiving yards.

— Five players have led the Steelers in receiving through the first eight games of the season.

It might be Pat Freiermuth who has a big game one week. It could be Darnell Washington or Roman Wilson the next.

“It’s not tricky at all,” Rodgers said. “Throw it to the open guy. Whoever gets open is the guy who usually gets the opportunities. I throw it to the open guy. We have a lot of different personnel groupings and splits and alignments and motions where we’re trying to get certain guys the ball. Teams are trying to shut down DK. Teams are rolling coverage to him on damn near every play. Even when it looks like single high, they’ll roll a guy to his side. Other guys have to step up and make plays.”

The way the Steelers are being defended is illustrated in the numbers. Metcalf leads the Steelers with 29 receptions and 467 yards. He’s not quite on pace for a 1,000-yard season.

Five other Steelers have at least 19 catches this season, and it’s completely unpredictable from one week to the next. Washington and Calvin Austin III each had six targets in Sunday’s victory against the Colts, while Metcalf was held to two catches for a meager 6 yards.

“Y’all might get frustrated with that,” Metcalf said. “We don’t. We’re just trying to win.”

Adding another player to the mix might have worked in the Steelers’ favor, but there were no guarantees. Acquiring players in trades can be risky, especially in the middle of a season. General managers hope the players can quickly assimilate, but it’s easier said than done.

When the Steelers were 6-2 at last year’s trade deadline, GM Omar Khan added depth to his receiving and outside linebacker corps with the acquisitions of Mike Williams and Preston Smith. Both players flashed in their debuts against the Commanders a few days after the trade.

Williams caught the game-winning touchdown pass from Russell Wilson late in the fourth quarter. Smith played 23 snaps in that game and registered a sack.

The problem was the Steelers didn’t find ways to consistently have them involved throughout the rest of the season. Williams went the next nine games without another touchdown and averaged only 19 snaps per game. Smith, meanwhile, failed to get another sack and by late in the season had become an afterthought. He was deactivated for the Christmas Day game against the Chiefs and averaged only 20 snaps in the eight games he played.

Who’s to say it would have been any different this season if Khan had pulled off a trade?

The Steelers offense is far from perfect, but it heads to Los Angeles with one of the NFL’s top red-zone units and overall is a few points away from being among the top scoring teams in the league. They might not have anyone make All-Pro or even the Pro Bowl, but the spread-the-wealth approach has them atop the AFC North standings with a two-game lead.

“We’re just trying to win games in whatever shape, form or fashion,” Metcalf said. “We’re just trying to put points on the board. Everyone wants to hold up a trophy at the end of the year. We have to go through these types of processes in order for that goal to be met.”

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