Kaleb Johnson’s tenure with the Pittsburgh Steelers has officially ended.
ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported the Steelers agreed to send the running back to the Green Bay Packers on Sunday. The terms of the trade were not immediately disclosed.
Trade: The Steelers are trading running back Kaleb Johnson to the Packers,” wrote Fowler on X.
With his departure, Johnson is making bad Steelers history. According to Steelers Depot’s Alex Kozora, he is the first third-round pick to not remain in Pittsburgh for the start of his second NFL campaign since offensive guard Kraig Urbik in 2010.
In one season with the Steelers, Johnson rushed for 69 yards. Entering this fall, pundits questioned whether Johnson would make the roster as Pittsburgh’s RB3.
Instead of cutting him and receiving nothing in return, the Steelers traded the running back.
Pittsburgh selected Johnson at No. 83 overall in the third round of the 2025 NFL Draft.
UPDATE: The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s Tom Silverstein reported the Packers are sending a 2028 sixth-round pick to the Steelers for Johnson.
Steelers Trade RB Kaleb Johnson to Packers: Report
The Steelers will enter the 2026 regular season with Jaylen Warren and Rico Dowdle as their top two running backs. Johnson was contending to make the roster as an RB3. But Johnson doesn’t really have the versatility to fill that role.
Johnson was mostly a between-the-tackles bruiser running back in college. He’s not much of a pass-catcher, blocker or special teams contributor.
That doesn’t make him an ideal RB3. The Steelers will likely keep the more versatile Travis Homer in that role instead when roster cuts occur by 6 pm ET Sunday.
While trading Johnson isn’t shocking, it’s still disappointing for Pittsburgh fans. The trade continued a troubling Steelers trend of the team needing to move on from top selections quickly.
“With Kaleb Johnson trade, Steelers have now parted ways with seven players who were drafted in the third round or higher since 2021,” wrote The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Gerry Dulac on X.
As a rookie, Johnson played in 10 games, finishing the season mostly as a healthy scratch in December and January. He had 28 carries for 69 yards and one reception for nine yards. Johnson averaged only 2.5 yards per carry.
The running back also made a major gaffe on special teams. Johnson muffed a kickoff the Seattle Seahawks recovered for a touchdown in Week 2.
With the Packers, though, Johnson should have an opportunity for more playing time. Starter Josh Jacobs is facing legal trouble, and Green Bay has depth concerns behind Jacobs.
Steelers RB Depth Entering 2026 NFL Regular Season
The Steelers lost their top pass-catching back in Kenneth Gainwell in NFL free agency. That briefly gave Johnson fans hope that he would be a much bigger part of Pittsburgh’s offense in 2026.
But at the end of the first day of NFL free agency, the Steelers added Dowdle, who has recorded a 1,000-yard rushing season in Mike McCarthy’s offense previously.
In retrospect, that was really the beginning of the end for Johnson in Pittsburgh. Without the versatility to be an RB3, Johnson’s best chance at a Steelers roster spot might have been Warren or Dowdle suffering an injury.
Johnson rushed for 1,537 yards and 21 touchdowns during his final campaign at Iowa. He finished his college career with 2,779 rushing yards.
Johnson will take that resume back to the midwest with the Packers.
Steelers Trade RB Kaleb Johnson to NFC Contender: Report