Steelers Can't Keep Operating Like This

Is anyone else sick of the way the Pittsburgh Steelers conduct their business?

The move everyone knew was coming for weeks finally happened, as the Steelers traded Joey Porter Jr. to the Dallas Cowboys in exchange for a 2028 second-round draft pick and a 2027 sixth-round draft pick.

It simply didn't have to come to this. Blame Porter Jr. for his antics and blame his agent for not accepting whatever deal the Steelers offered him. That's fine. But at the same time, hold the Steelers accountable for their failures as an organization, because this is another reflection of this franchise's inability to move forward and find success.

Tradition Does Not Equal Success

We've reached the point in the Steelers' history where the same things get brought up. The Steelers don't break tradition, until they do. They don't spread out guaranteed money, until they do for T.J. Watt. They want team-first players, until they allow their defensive leader to threaten to hold out until his contract is satisfactory (remember the start of the 2025 season, Cam Heyward?).

And once again, tradition was what got in the way of this deal. The Steelers can't possibly negotiate once the regular season begins. It would defile and spit in the face of all of the perfect traditions that have led this team to so much success recently.

But wait, what's that you say? This team hasn't won a playoff game in a decade? This same franchise hasn't been back to the Super Bowl since 2011?

This franchise has consistently failed to produce Super Bowl caliber teams over the past two decades, burt sure, it's Joey Porter Jr. that is the biggest problem plaguing the Steelers. It's definitely not that this team refuses to adapt to the new nature of the NFL and it's definitely not their stubbornness that is contributing to this drought.

It was just Le'Veon Bell that was the problem. Then it was just Antonio Brown. Then it was just Diontae Johnson. They just want volunteers, not hostages! Then it was just Melvin Gordon not understanding the deal when he signed in Pittsburgh. Then it was George Pickens. Then it was Broderick Jones. Now it's Joey Porter Jr.

So then, the argument becomes "this is addition by subtraction." The team will justify getting an insufficient return with saying the locker room needed this distraction gone, even though his teammates were fervently in his corner during this process.

If only the Steelers could identify all of these problem players before dealing with him them for multiple years and celebrating their successes, only to turn them into villains when they don't do exactly what the organization wants. That would surely turn this Super Bowl and playoff drought around.

But sadly, it's unavoidable. The Steelers are an innocent and sweet organization that is just trying to win. If only these evil players would stop demanding the money they've earned and generated for their teams and stop being so gosh darn greedy, Pittsburgh would have won five more Super Bowls!