JUICY Steelers Rumors: PIT Works Out Former Top 10 Pick Isaiah Simmons + Sign Treylon Burks?

JUICY Steelers Rumors: PIT Works Out Former Top 10 Pick Isaiah Simmons + Sign Treylon Burks?

[Music] Tonight on Steelers Talk, the Steelers have worked out a former top 10 draft pick in the south side of Pittsburgh earlier today. I’ll let you guys know who that is at the top of today’s program. Then we’ll talk about Tayen Burks, who was recently released by the Tennessee Titans. Should the Pittsburgh Steelers consider bringing him in? Then we’ll get into our final topic today, which is how I think the Pittsburgh Steelers are going to deploy their many tight ends versus the Cleveland Browns on Sunday. So, make sure you guys stick around for that. But before we get into our content today, speaking of the Browns, right now, the Browns report is currently in the lead for our new subscriber battle this week between us and our Browns channel here at Chat Sports. The Browns report, they have currently gotten 266 new subscribers this week. We’ve done a good job with 239 new subscribers, but we are still behind. So, if you’re a new viewer, you guys have been watching the channel for a while and you guys like our content. Make sure you guys click that subscribe button to help us beat the Browns here this week. We have never lost a sub battle versus the Browns report. I do not intend to start a streak now and to end our winning streak here. So, make sure you guys click that subscribe button if you haven’t already if you want to beat the Browns. All right, so a little bit of news here. here. The Pittsburgh Steelers have signed linebacker Jacobe Winman to the practice squad. Wman was with the Pittsburgh Steelers before. He’s very he’s known as kind of like an athletic uh physical linebacker. Formerly uh played for Michigan State in college. So, bringing him back to the practice squad after the team released Jawan Bentley earlier this week. And the Steelers are not stopping there. They have brought in two other linebackers for workouts today. Michael Barrett and then also Isaiah Simmons. And Simmons, of course, is a former top 10 draft pick for the Arizona Cardinals back in 2020. And guys, I’ve been intrigued by Isaiah Simmons for years. I have suggested that the Pittsburgh Steelers bring in Simmons on a veteran minimum contract to play kind of a big nickel type of positional role for many years now. I think in every single perfect offseason plan I’ve ever put out, I have the Steelers bringing in Isaiah Simmons to play a specialized role in this defense as kind of a defensive chess piece. And you guys can take a look at Simmons’s profile. He’s 27 years old. He brings good size to the table, 6’4, 238 pounds for somebody that I would consider more of a DB than a true linebacker. Um, but you know, he was the eighth overall pick out of Clemson in 2020. A lot of people were very intrigued by the possibilities and the potential of a guy with the physical skill set that Isaiah Simmons brings to the table. He’s known as an athletic, versatile defensive chess piece. and he was with the Green Bay Packers earlier this year um in training camp and he ended up getting uh cut from the Green Bay Packers. He formerly played with the New York Giants for a couple of seasons uh before that and I think where the Packers went wrong with Isaiah Simmons is he is a highly specialized player and you have to use him in a certain way I think uh because he’s got very big weaknesses in his game. He can’t tackle, he can’t diagnose the run. Um, you know, he’s he’s not fantastic, you know, moving backwards in zone coverage either. He has to play kind of an aggressive style. Um, he’s pretty good in man coverage, especially against tight ends. He can erase tight ends in man. He’s a pretty decent blitzer. Um, you know, obviously brings an incredible athletic profile. So, the highs on Isaiah Simmons’s film are awesome, but there are way too many lows on his film to be a full-time player. I think he has to be a highly specialized kind of like dime backer, big nickel type. And I would love to see him in kind of like a blitzing kind of slot corner type of role. I’ve always wanted to see what he would look like as kind of like a bigger nickel type of slot player that can be a threat to blitz off the edge cuz he’s got some uh I I think that’s what he’s done best throughout his career. So, I would love to see the Pittsburgh Steelers use him as a linebacker. Um you know, he’s listed as a linebacker/safety, so he played a little bit of safety. uh for for new for uh New York over the last few years and he just wasn’t consistent enough to be a full-time player in that defense and of course they end up letting him go this off seasonason. Green Bay picks him up and Jeff Hafley, their defensive coordinator, tried to turn him into a full-time linebacker and they kind of made the same mistake that Arizona made because that’s what they tried to do. And Simmons is just not good enough and not frankly not an intelligent enough player um and doesn’t have the instincts to play linebacker at a high level. But if you can put him in as like a dime backer, as a big nickel, as somebody that plays a lot in the slot, somebody that can play a lot of man coverage versus tight ends, I think Isaiah Simmons could be a pretty decent addition for the Pittsburgh Steelers defense. If you’re expecting him to come in here and be like a starting linebacker or a full-time starter at Big Nickel or in the slot or anything like that, I would say, you know, probably not. I think he’s probably a passing down kind of specialist type of defensive back uh that is uh kind of a bigger body. Uh, but he’s definitely one of the more unique players in the National Football League. But, um, you know, it’s going to be interesting to see if the Pittsburgh Steelers like him enough to bring him in. So, you be the GM for me down there in the comment section. Would you bring in Isaiah Simmons and have him uh join the Pittsburgh Steelers this year? Type S for sign or P for pass. For me, I would sign him for the vet minimum. Why not see if he can be kind of that big nickel kind of dime backer uh that and play that role on passing uh heavy downs that I think he could play in theory here in Pittsburgh. But let me know what you guys think down there in the comments section for today’s pin question. Just a second here. I’m going to tell you about our sponsor today at ethos. And while I’m telling you about our sponsor today, make sure you get down there in the comments section and let me know if you would sign Isaiah Simmons if you were the Pittsburgh Steelers. Now, let’s have a word from our sponsor today at Ethos. Guys, the summer before I started here at Chat Sports, unfortunately, my family lost my late grandfather. 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There’s no complicated process, and it’s 100% online. There’s no medical exam required and you just answer a few health questions to get a quote in as little as 10 minutes. Protect your family with life insurance from Ethos today. Get your free quote at ethos.com/nflaily. That’s ethos.com uh NFL Daily to get your free quote today. Application times may vary. Rates may vary. A big thank you to Ethos for sponsoring today’s edition of Steelers Talk. So this week, the Tennessee Titans finally uh parted ways with Taylen Burks, the bust receiver, former first round pick out of Arkansas. And of course, they drafted Tayen Burks to be the AJ Brown replacement. Well, that certainly didn’t work out uh in Nashville. And after a lot of injuries and a lot of frankly poor play, um the Tennessee Titans have finally moved on from the former first round pick. So now he has cleared waiverss and he is a free agent, free to sign with anybody that he pleases. And there’s some people on Steelers Twitter and in Steelers media uh claiming that the Pittsburgh Steelers should go out and pick him up and you know take a flyer on a former first round pick that is a big body is kind of a yak threat. He was compared very heavily to Debo Samuel coming out. Uh and you guys can take a look at his profile here. He’s still only 25 years old. He’s still over 200 lb. So, you know, he’s somebody that has a high has high effort in the run blocking department as well. Kind of seems like an Arthur Smith kind of guy. and he is a former first round pick for a reason, guys. He has shown some legitimate flashes in his time at at in Tennessee. He’s had some nice catches. He’s had some nice yard run after the catch moments, but he’s just really had a hard time staying healthy, especially over these last two years. He fractured his collar bone in training camp. Uh and now he’s been cleared to play. So, you know, there might be a team that ends up picking him up. But you guys can take a look here over the course of his career. Uh you know, that rookie season in 2022 was actually okay. 33 catches for over 440 yards and had a touchdown. Maybe a little bit underwhelming, but uh Tennessee certainly went into his sophomore season uh hoping that he was going to play a little bit better and he just didn’t. Um in fact, he played quite a bit worse. Had a hard time staying on the field and then last year in 2024 only four catches on the entire season. Once again, had a hard time staying healthy. So, it’s just not been a good ride to this point for Trail Burks. And you know, I know that he’s a former firstround pick and I know theoretically he’s got the size and he he’s got an intriguing profile and he’s former first round pick so people you know kind of think highly of him and he’s big name but I don’t think the Pittsburgh Steelers should bring in Trayen Burks guys. Um I just don’t know what he would bring to the Steelers offense that they don’t already have in their wide receiver room as well as in their tight end room because Tayen Burks frankly guys at this point he would be like a manufactured touch kind of screen threat type of guy. He doesn’t run great routes. He does. He has a big drop issue. And honestly, like I like Jonnu Smith more than I like Tayen Burks. All right. I think they have a similar level of athleticism, but Jonnu is bigger. I think he’s got uh I think he’s a better route runner than Treyen Burks is. I think he’s got more reliable hands than he does. So, you know, in this role inside the Steelers offense to be that kind of tight end uh you know, kind of bigger body pass catcher that’s a yak threat. Um you know, Jonno Smith does quite a bit for that. uh kind of quite a bit of that in the Steelers offense already. And then DK Metaf does a lot of that in the Steelers offense as well. So I just don’t know what Trey would bring to the Pittsburgh Steelers that they don’t already have. He’s not bringing route running. He’s not bringing a particularly good skill set as a hands catcher. I don’t think he’d be able to develop a ton of chemistry with Aaron Rogers because his hands are so untrustworthy. So I even for the vet minimum guys, I’m not really all that interested in Tayon Burks. I know he’s a former first round pick. I know uh that he’s a big name, but personally guys, if I have a choice between Isaiah Simmons and Jaylen Burks, these two guys that could be brought in as former first round picks, I’m picking Isaiah Simmons. Now, now pick a receiver for me down there in the comments section. So, the steel the guy the Steelers did bring in a couple weeks ago was Isaiah Hajins. Let me know if you’d rather have Hajins or Burks in the Steelers locker room as kind of a practice squad type of player that could be elevated. Type IH for Isaiah Hajins or TB for Trail Burks. Honestly, Isaiah Hajins’s hands and his ability to get open to the short and intermediate levels of the field make me say Isaiah Hajins. Uh cuz I just don’t think Trey would bring all that much to the Steelers offense if I’m being completely honest with you guys. But let me know your answer down there in the comments section. So, now let’s talk about some tight end usage here, guys. Because honestly, this has been, and really it has been since going into the season, uh, what the Steelers want their identity to be. It’s to be a lot of, uh, tight ends onto the on the field using 12 and 13 personnel. Um, and I think this week we’re going to see more of that. And then I think we’re going to see more 13 personnel than maybe we have seen all throughout the 2025 season to this point because Calvin Austin the third is likely out this week because I don’t think the Steelers have a super high level of confidence in Roman Wilson and Scotty Miller. I think this team, especially on early downs, might want to live in jumbo 13 personnel, which would mean Spencer Anderson, Darnell Washington, and probably Janu Smith or Pat Fmouth is going to be in there as kind of like a third tight end, and they would be going out into wings. But then also, I could see Arthur Smith get creative with the ways that he uses uh Janu Smith. I mean, last year with the Miami Dolphins, the Dolphins lined Janu up on the outside as a screen threat a lot. And I think that that’s a skill set that the Steelers could tap into as long as Calvin Austin the third is out of the lineup. So, you could put him out there, could you could line him up in different ways. You can uh put him in line in like a and like a wing formation in 13 personnel, but you could also put him out wide. You could motion him before the snap. he could do some creative things with John Smith as kind of like a pseudo number two wide receiver while Calvin Austin III is out of the lineup. So, I think that’s something that we are going to continue to see and I think we’re going to see more of versus the Cleveland Browns because they kind of base out of nickel and I think the Steelers’s hope is that they’re going to do their very best to get them into base personnel, have them play a style of defense that they’re not used to playing. And I think that that’s really been the kind of game plan for Arthur Smith and this Steelers offense going back to uh earlier on in the season. I think in the early weeks they had Pat Farmouth and they had John U Smith uh kind of as the two tight ends that they wanted to play with. But I think they’ve kind of figured out that they need to play heavier and they need to play with Spencer Anderson and Darnell Washington more. And honestly guys, unfortunately that means that Pat Fmouth is kind of in no man’s land when it comes to the Steelers offense because he doesn’t really specialize in anything. All right, he’s kind of the classic jack of all trades but master of none. He’s an okay route runner, but he’s not a terrific route runner like a Brock Bowers, for example. He’s he’s he’s got good hands, but he doesn’t have great hands. And he has very uh critical drops at times. And you know, he’s he’s he’s an okay blocker where if he’s blocking like an outside linebacker or even an offball backer or DB, he can handle those blocking assignments. But if he’s going up against a defensive lineman, forget about it. Pat Fmouth can’t handle those blocking uh responsibilities. So, you know, Muth is not good enough as a blocker and he’s not good enough as a receiver or as a yak threat to have a legit role in Pittsburgh’s offense. All right? Like you look at the other tight ends in this group uh in this tight end room. Like they’ve got legitimate roles. Spencer Anderson is their like elephant big sixth offensive lineman type. You got Darnell Washington who’s kind of another bigger tight end that can also catch the football but is an excellent blocker. And then you got John Smith who’s kind of more undersized. He’s not much of a blocker like Muth, but he also brings a Yak skill set to the table uh as kind of like a manufactured touch guy. Muth doesn’t bring that to the table. So, you know, when you use Darnell Washington and Spencer Anderson more, that just means automatically Pat Fmouth is going to play less. And it stinks that the Steelers are paying him top 10 tight end money right now. And I just think as the season goes on, he’s going to continue to get more and more faded out of this offense. And I think that that sucks for Pat Fmouth because I think he’s a pretty decent player. It’s just there’s not a whole lot of places for him to fit inside this Steelers scheme right now. And I think because of that, um I I think Pittsburgh may be open to trading him. Um I like Muth a lot. I like him as a guy. I think he works hard. And by the way, his once we we’ve seen his snaps decrease and we haven’t heard a peep from him. Um so that’s something that you know, I think he’s a great locker room guy. All these different things. But like if a team comes calling and says, “We’ll give you like an early day three pick or a late day two pick for Pat Fmouth,” are the Steelers going to say no to that? I don’t think so, man. Like, you know, it would be nice to get his money off the books if you don’t have a long-term plan for him. um if he’s not a big part of your offense and he can help facilitate a trade for say like another really nice wide receiver or maybe a left tackle to replace Brick Jones if you need to do that by the deadline. I think that’s something that the Pittsburgh Steelers would consider at this point because you know I at this point guys you don’t really have a plan for him. Uh I think the plan going into the season was we’re going to use Muth and Janu almost every single play and we’re going to give them both starter level snaps. So that’s what’s going to justify giving both of them starter level money. But that’s just not the case right now, guys. And I think as the season goes on, we’re going to see more and more of these jumbo packages. And in that space, I don’t think there’s a whole lot of room for Pat Footh to get a heavy workload and put up the numbers that kind of justify the salary that the Steelers are paying him right now. So I like Muth a lot, but I do think that the Steelers are probably going to be open to trading him before the NFL trade deadline this year. And I think it’s a legitimate possibility that Footh could be traded before the deadline this season. So, let me know what you guys think down there in the comments section. Is a Pat Fmouth trade even a 1% possibility right now? Yes or no? All right. Yes, meaning yes, there’s a chance that he could get traded or to no meaning there’s a 0% chance they trade Patmouth. He isn’t going anywhere. All right, that’s going to be it for today’s edition of Steelers News and Rumors. Thank you guys for making it to the end with me here today. Tomorrow, Ponzi and I will be back live on Steelers Talk Live starting at 5:00 p. p.m. Eastern time. So, make sure you guys click that subscribe button to never miss any of our Steelers Talk content all throughout week six. Until next time, guys. Here we go. Steelers. [Music]

Pittsburgh Steelers rumors on Wednesday, October 8th, have been set on fire as the Steelers have brought in former top 10 NFL Draft pick and versatile defensive weapon Isaiah Simmons for a workout after releasing Ja’Whaun Bentley earlier in the week. On today’s edition of Steelers Talk, host Jack Sperry discusses what Simmons could bring to the Steelers defense if signed, talks about whether or not the Steelers should consider bringing in the recently released Treylon Burks, and how Jack thinks the Steelers will deploy their tight ends this week vs. the Cleveland Browns and why Pat Freiermuth has now found himself in no man’s land within the Steelers offense.

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Braxton Jones Career PFF Grades:
– 2022: 75.4 (19th/81 OT)
– 2023: 68.8 (34th/81 OT)
– 2024: 77.4 (22nd/81 OT)
– 2025: 55.0 (51st/71 OT)

Pittsburgh Steelers OT Trade Targets:
– Rasheed Walker (Age: 25 | GB)
– Jermaine Eluemunor (Age: 30 | NYG)
– DJ Humphries (Age: 31 | LAR)
– Andrew Wylie (Age: 31 | WAS)
– Brandon Coleman (Age: 24 | WAS)

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Treylon Burks’ Career Stats:
– 2022 STATS: 33 REC, 444 YDS, 1 TD
– 2023 STATS: 16 REC, 221 YDS, 0 TD
– 2024 STATS: 4 REC, 34 YDS, 0 TD

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– Who’s the better WR? Type ‘IH’ for Isaiah Hodgins, or ‘TB’ for Treylon Burks
– Is a Pat Freiermuth trade a possibility at this point? Yes or No?

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