The Pittsburgh Steelers have at least six wins heading into Week 10 for the first time since 2020. Looking like a true contender, general manager Omar Khan acquired wide receiver Mike Williams and edge rusher Preston Smith at the NFL trade deadline to help the team make a playoff push.
The additions couldn’t have thrilled Steelers top edge rusher T.J. Watt any more. Watt expressed his excitement about the trade deadline acquisitions while talking to WMBS Sportsline’s George Von Benko.
“It’s awesome. It means we’re competing. We’re doing some things right, and we brought in some weapons with Mike Williams and Preston Smith,” Watt said in a one-on-one interview on November 8. “Just to be able to have [Smith] in the outside linebacker room watching him from afar. He’s been doing it at a high level for a long time.
“So, I’m excited to have him [as] part of our rotation.”
Smith will join Watt, along with Alex Highsmith and Nick Herbig, in the team’s edge rusher rotation. Meanwhile, on offense, Williams could start opposite George Pickens at outside receiver.
Steelers’ Stacking Chips With NFL Trade Deadline Deals
The Steelers gave up two Day 3 draft picks to acquire Williams and Smith. They will be down another Day 3 selection after the details of the March trade for Justin Fields are complete at the end of the regular season.
But that doesn’t matter at that moment. The Steelers appear to be AFC contenders sitting at 6-2 heading into Week 10. They are pushing to compete for a championship.
The trades signaled as much on November 5. Head coach Mike Tomlin confirmed that too the day after the deadline.
“We’re just stacking our chips. This is an arms race,” Tomlin told reporters. “It’s highly competitive.”
The Steelers are hoping Williams and Smith can help the team end their eight-year postseason win drought. First, the organization will have to go through a gauntlet of a second half schedule.
As of November 9, the Steelers only have opponents with winning records and division rivals on their slate the final two months of the season.
