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.
Preston Smith to Support T.J. Watt, Steelers Pass Rush
Because of the obvious hole the Steelers had at wide receiver, Williams is the biggest addition the team made. The eighth-year wideout has averaged 15.5 yards per catch over his NFL career.
While it’s been three years since he posted 15 yards per reception in a season, Williams could be a dangerous deep threat opposite Pickens, who led the NFL in yards per catch last season.
But for Watt, Smith will be the more important acquisition. The arrival of Smith could allow Watt more rest early in games and non-passing situations. Through eight contests, Watt has played about 91.5% of Pittsburgh’s defensive snaps.
He’s on pace to play a career-high 999 snaps on defense and special teams combined.
The Steelers aren’t going to want to take Watt off the field often. But Smith gives them another option, so they don’t have to deploy Watt all the time.
Smith will also give the Steelers additional depth in case of an injury. Highsmith and Herbig have missed three games each this season because of ailments. Last season, Watt suffered a knee injury in the regular season finale and missed the wild card round. Without him in the playoffs, the Steelers generated very little pass rush.
Smith has posted at least 8 sacks in six of his previous nine seasons. Last year, he had 8 sacks with 21 quarterback hits, 4 pass defenses and 2 forced fumbles.
In nine games with the Green Bay Packers during 2024, he registered 2.5 sacks, 2 tackles for loss and 4 quarterback hits.
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T.J. Watt Speaks Out on Steelers’ NFL Trade Deadline Moves