Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports
The Pittsburgh Steelers have started the season 0-4 and are in need of a major rebuild. By rebuild, I mean they need to let the other 29 NFL teams know that they are willing to trade any player on their roster — for the right price. Obviously, the Steelers shouldn’t push to try and trade away any young players like Maurkice Pouncey, Le’Veon Bell or Jarvis Jones, but the veteran players like Ben Roethlisberger, Troy Polamalu and Ike Taylor should be on the trade block.
Even though the Steelers need to rebuild, they can still make trades to bring in talented players instead of future draft picks. An example of a player the Steelers need to consider trading for is Josh Gordon, the Cleveland Browns’ top receiving threat. The Browns are rumored to be seeking a second round pick in exchange for the very talented receiver and he is only 22 years old. Gordon is about the same age as any player the Steelers would select with their second-round pick, and he is probably more talented too. Even though draft picks are extremely valuable in the NFL, this is an opportunity the Steelers shouldn’t pass up.
When Mike Wallace left for the Miami Dolphins, it left the Steelers without an established deep threat. Emmanuel Sanders and Antonio Brown have done a decent job filling that role, but neither is a No. 1 option in a good offense. Gordon, if he had an elite quarterback, would be a number one receiver.
There are two reasons for a Gordon-to-Steelers trade to seem unlikely. First, it is unclear how motivated the Browns are to deal him. They reportedly only want a second-round pick for him, but that is simply a rumor. Secondly, the Browns are in the same division as the Steelers; some teams aren’t comfortable trading within their division. Even if the Steelers call the Browns about a Gordon trade, there is no reason to believe the Browns would be interested in discussing a trade with them. It wouldn’t hurt to try, though; trading for Gordon makes too much sense for the Steelers to not at least give it an attempt.
