The Pittsburgh Steelers Seem To Be Going ALL IN On 2025…

AtoZ Sports

Kyle Crabbs talks more about the Pittsburgh Steelers splash move from Monday, where they traded for Jalen Ramsey and Jonnu Smith. These aren't the Steelers we're used to seeing, and it's clear that GM Omar Khan and Mike Tomlin are going all in.

Transcript

00:00We now have all the details of the Jalen Ramsey blockbuster trade, and the most interesting thing

00:04isn't necessarily the players involved in the cash exchange, it's that these are not your daddy's

00:10Steelers. I'm Kyle Krabs of A to Z Sports, and for quite some time, the Pittsburgh Steelers have had

00:19their very refined and defined way of conducting their business in the NFL. This is a team that

00:26covets stability like few teams across the league have been able to maintain. They like to draft

00:33and develop, they talk about the culture of being a Pittsburgh Steeler, the legacy of this

00:39organization, so to see what Pittsburgh has done this offseason really should raise some eyebrows

00:45as far as the departure from the norms of what you and generations before you have come to expect

00:52from the Pittsburgh Steelers. Omar Khan has had the general manager title since Kevin Colbert

00:57stepped down in 2022, and Khan this season is putting the gas pedal down at an unprecedented

01:04rate for the Steelers organization. Remember, they traded for DK Metcalf and gave a supersized

01:1030 plus million dollar per year contract to a player who had never played a snap with the team.

01:15There's no question of DK Metcalf's talent level, but external players coming in and getting paid

01:21like Metcalf is something that Pittsburgh usually has avoided in years past. And I understand why

01:28they would then parlay that into signing quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who Steelers have struggled to find

01:35a replacement for Ben Roethlisberger. And that includes Kenny Pickett, former first round draft

01:39choice, who's counting is on his third team in as many seasons with the Cleveland Browns after the

01:44Steelers with Khan responsible moved on from that failed investment. But then this latest trade

01:51happened and Jalen Ramsey comes into the picture and negotiates a raise from the Steelers and

01:56Jonu Smith comes in and negotiates a raise from the Steelers. Now there's shorter term implications

02:03for both of these players where Ramsey gets the pay bump, Jonu Smith's on a one-year deal,

02:09Minka Fitzpatrick is the player that's going out, was ironically enough a player that the Steelers

02:14traded a first round draft choice for, but he was in year two of a rookie contract when he came into

02:19Pittsburgh back in 2019. He's going on to have a very successful career and do $15.5 million this

02:27season. Pittsburgh cashed out, but cashed out for an older, more expensive player. And then another

02:33player who they promptly gave a raise to without ever having played a snap. It's a really fascinating

02:40departure for Pittsburgh from what you would expect. And it underscores some of the pressure that this

02:47organization is under to win with one of the league's longest droughts of winning a playoff

02:53game. It's been since 2016 for Pittsburgh. And if it doesn't happen this year, I think the most

03:00interesting question to ask is what happens next with you changing the way that you do business in

03:07a way that is giving more money to external forces and that money being paid up front, not saying that

03:13the Pittsburgh Steelers have mortgaged their future by any means, but it is worth asking the question,

03:20what happens if the breakthrough doesn't come? Because you've heard some rumblings about Mike

03:25Tomlin and his status with the team amidst of this playoff wind route. What does it mean for the

03:32quarterback situation and what the Steelers plan is there? What does it mean for Ramsey beyond this year,

03:39who is making it abundantly clear with these chess moves he's making from one team to another that

03:44he would like to continue to play for contending franchises? There's a lot of what ifs. And if the

03:52Steelers don't have the breakthrough that they are obviously banking on with these out of character

03:58aggressive moves, it will be fascinating to see who stays on, who gets new opportunities,

04:05who goes elsewhere, and if the Steelers will revert back to their standard operating procedure.

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