The Steelers Just Got GREAT NEWS + PIT’s Plan At The WR Position REVEALED By New ESPN Report

The Steelers Just Got GREAT NEWS + PIT’s Plan At The WR Position REVEALED By New ESPN Report

Welcome in to Steelers Talk. I’m your host, Jax Sperry. Thank you guys so much for joining me here on a beautiful Sunday afternoon. Yesterday, the Pittsburgh Steelers lost their second preseason game of the year versus the Tampa Bay Buccaneers by a final score of 17 to 14. I put out my initial winners and losers list for that game last night. Still waiting on the all 22 film before I give any more thoughts on that particular game, guys. We’ll probably talk about it a little bit more in tomorrow’s video. So, make sure you guys click that subscribe button if you haven’t already because we’re going to give you guys free and informative Steelers content every single day on this channel throughout the 2025 season. And then also, we’ll be going live for every single Steelers game this year. Last night had had our second live watch party of the year. It was a lot of fun. We’re going to be having another one here on Thursday when the Steelers take on the Panthers in their preseason finale. So, make sure you guys click that subscribe button to never miss a show and never miss a watch party. All right, so today we got some news to talk about. Some good news, uh, potentially here for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Couple bits of good news and then a couple pieces of, you know, questionable news and then maybe a little bit of bad news here. We’ll start with the good news here to start off today’s show, though, guys. Nick Herbig, who left yesterday’s game after just three snaps with a hamstring injury. It doesn’t sound like it’s too serious. Mike Tomlin said in his postgame press conference last night, that’s not that serious. Um, so I’m guessing it’s either like a grade one strain or something like that and it’s not going to keep him out of the lineup too long. I would guess he’s not going to play on Thursday versus the Carolina Panthers, but I would also say that it sounds like it’s not that big of a deal and he could be ready to go as early as week one versus the New York Jets. So that is certainly good news here that that’s not going to be anything particularly serious and the reason why he was pulled was kind of just to be cautionary with it. Um, so to see Nick Herbig out there is something that I really want to see at the start of the season and all throughout the season. Of course, he dealt with a little bit of an injury issue last year. Based on the way Jack Sawyer has been looking on film through the first two preseason games, can’t exactly say I’d have a ton of confidence as him as him being the third rotational edge rusher in this group heading into the year. Um, but now moving on to uh some trade news around the National Football League. The Bengals are now reportedly listening to trade offers for star edge rusher Trey Hendrickson, who was who of course led the league in sacks last year. It was really their lone star defensive player for that Bengals defense that as we know was so bad, not even Joe Burrow, who was putting up MVP numbers last year, could make the playoffs with because they were just giving up points and points and points. They even gave up over uh 30 points to the Pittsburgh Steelers offense with uh with Russell Wilson, right? uh they’ve given up, you know, 30 plus points to the Steelers with Kenny Picket, Mason Rudolph, and Russell Wilson in the last three years. Um and now, you know, because apparently Hendrickson and the Bengals want to get something done with each other, but they just have certain things that they can’t um you know, get done within this deal. So, now the Bengals are listening to trade offers for Hendrickson. It seems like they’re really serious about moving him somewhere else. Now, Jordan Schultz from Fox Sports reports that the Indianapolis Colts, the Carolina Panthers, and the Cleveland Browns are the teams that are reportedly interested in trading for Trey Hendrickson. Um, three teams that I wouldn’t necessarily peg as guys as teams that would be favorites to land Hendrickson. Certainly, they have the cap space to make it work, but like the Panthers, um, you know, the Browns, teams that are not really in Super Bowl contention right now. Uh, the Colts don’t really have a great grasp of their quarterback situation either. Um, unless they really believe in Anthony Richardson to have a breakout season this year. Um, some other names that I would say keep an eye out for here, guys, are the Green Bay Packers, the New England Patriots, and maybe even the Washington Commanders as well. Those are teams with enough cap space that have interest in potentially getting an Ed Rusher. And then maybe a dark horse would actually be the Philadelphia Eagles, who actually traded for John Mechy earlier today, but we’ll talk about that here in a little bit. Here’s what I want to say about the Trey Hendrickson situation, guys. If the Bengals trade away Hendrickson and they don’t add like um you know, another good defensive player uh in this trade that they’re apparently trying to facilitate right now. This might be the worst defense in the National Football League this year. Um, and we might be looking at a very similar kind of story where Joe Burrow and Jamar Chase and T. Higgins might be lighting up the scoreboard, but their opponents every single week are also going to be lighting up the scoreboard. And, you know, Joe Burrow is going to have to is going to be asked to win shootouts time and time and time again, week after week after week, yet again here in 2025. And if they only made made it with nine if they only got nine and eight as their record last year with Hendrickson leading the league in sacks, you know, being top five in pressure rate and in pass rush win rate. Um, you know, take him out of the equation with a new coordinator coming over from college and like that might be the worst defense in the National Football League this year. So, uh, obviously if that ends up happening and Hendrickson gets traded away, that is good news for the Pittsburgh Steelers in terms of for sure, you know, keeping their standing in this division as the second best team in the AFC North. Obviously, they want to move up to that number one spot this year, but with the Bengals defense potentially getting even worse than it was last year, certainly helps out the Steelers’ chances of not only retaining at least the second spot in this division this year, but also in their games, the two games that they’re playing against the Cincinnati Bengals this year as well. So, those are some things to keep your eye on with Trey Hendrickson. There was also some wide receiver news today around the National Football League. John Mechy, formerly with the Houston Texans, is now a member of the Philadelphia Eagles. The Eagles are sending a tight end and I believe a fifth round pick for Mechi and a sixthround pick. Um, so, you know, that was something that I was keeping my eye on, guys. I thought Mechie would have been a really good fit here in Pittsburgh. He’s a good run blocker, good route runner, would have been kind of exactly what they’re looking for in kind of that uh Z wide receiver on the other side of DK Metaf. Of course, he was connected to the Steelers last year as well. Um, but it seems like the Steelers are pretty content with Roman Wilson heading into the season. And Jeremy Fowler from ESPN reported earlier today that pretty much the reason why the Steelers haven’t gotten another receiver in the offseason, at least not to this point, uh, to be their number two receiver is because they really like Roman Wilson. And they have been apparently very impressed with Roman’s start to the preseason and what he’s done in Steelers training camp as well. And over the last two weeks, Roman has had really good practices and he’s had two really good performances in the preseason games themselves. We saw it last night with 72 yards on just two catches, right? So, big play ability from Roman. He’s shown his ability to get open down the field against starting level corners. I mean, he completely burned Jamal Dean, one of the starting corners for a good Tampa Bay Buccaneers defense on a post route uh yesterday for a huge game. Came down with a nice hands catch on a pass that was slightly uh behind him from Mason Rudolph. And then, of course, he got wide ass open on that intermediate crosser. Um, of course, made another good hands catch. and you know, he’s just been pretty darn impressive throughout the preseason and over the last few weeks at training camp. So, the Steelers feel like that he can play that number two role in this offense. All right. And what I mean by number two role is not necessarily that he’s the second best overall receiver on the team. I think that Calvin Austin III is still the best, most complete receiver on the team outside of DK Metaf. Calvin is a great route runner. He’s really good after the catch with really good vision. I think he’s got underrated hands. He made some really tough catches down the stretch for this Steelers team last year. It’s just he can’t run block and with all the condensed looks that the Steelers run um in 12 personnel and they want everybody except the quarterback to be able to block on those early downs. Calvin just doesn’t bring that value to the team. And you know, you can make an argument Calvin honestly isn’t the best fit for this offense because of that. But Calvin is still a good and honestly really good third receiving option as a passing down specialist. But that still leaves an opportunity for somebody else to assume that quote unquote wide receiver to role within this Steelers offense that’s out there on early downs and gets those extra 200 snaps uh that Calvin Austin is just not out there for because he doesn’t fit what the Steelers require from from a blocking perspective out of that number two receiver. Now, Roman Wilson isn’t the biggest guy in the world, but he can run block. He brings the boom. He brings the effort. uh he’s got the functional strength to do it and he’s shown off that run blocking ability in the preseason thus far. He’s shown it off uh in the training camp practices as well and seems like the Steelers, you know, that was part of the reason why they wanted him out of Michigan is because that was a very runheavy team with the Wolverines that end up winning the national championship. He was used to run blocking on most uh if not just about every single down during a drive and you know his philosophy coming out of the draft was no block, no rock. So Roman is certainly somebody that is a willing blocker. Um he’s pretty darn good at it. And you know, he also brings that element of speed and explosiveness and he’s he’s got really good hands as well. So I think that his ceiling is capped. I don’t think he’s a true number one guy. I don’t think he has that potential in him. But can he be, you know, a very functional number two inside this Arthur Smith scheme? I absolutely think he can do that. And I think that their view of him is that he’s going to be in that Van Jefferson role where he’s going to be playing wide receiver two level snaps even though Calvin might be the more efficient receiver option on the Steelers this year. And then there’s also the reality that the Steelers are going to be playing a lot of 13 personnel. So they don’t need to be spending big money on another wide receiver to pair with DK Metaf. At least not from their perspective, right? because if you got 13 personnel out there and there’s only one receiver out there, it’s you’re not going to be able to pay two receivers big money um and still be able to play the offense that they want to play here. So, they feel like 13 personnel gives them a big matchup advantage heading into the year and that’s what they’re going to be trying to exploit. So, having a guy like Roman Wilson who is still unproven but fits kind of the wide receiver two role that the Steelers are looking for uh in this offense while doing it on a rookie contract that’s super affordable. I think exactly fits what the Steelers are looking for out of that number two receiver role. So, we’ll see if Roman uh pays off that trust and that uh faith that the Steelers are putting in him uh heading into the year, but it certainly seems like at this point the Steelers are probably going to be going into the year with Roman Wilson as their number two receiver. Um and with Calvin Austin the third slotting in as their number three in terms of total snap count. Um, also, um, I will say that you can look for the Steelers to maybe poach a receiver after, uh, roster cuts. You know, there’s certain guys that could be hitting the market. You know, the Panthers can’t keep everybody in their room. Green Bay might not be able to keep all their players in their room. Uh, Malachi Corley looks like he’s going to get cut from the New York Jets. So, just keep your eye on the uh waiverwire kind of market there after roster cuts go through because the Steelers, if there’s somebody in that mix that they feel like could be an addition to this wide receiver room, I think that they could potentially add somebody there. Um, but I do expect the three starters to start the season will be DK Metaf, Roman Wilson, and then Calvin Austin the third. Um, and then Scotty Miller and Ben Scoranic will be the two guys that for sure make this team. Maybe a six guy gets in there. Maybe it’s Brandon Johnson. Maybe it’s Rock Taylor, maybe it’s Kashawn Williams, maybe it’s an outside guy that they bring in that was cut from a different team. Um, but I think that they will for sure carry five and those five will be DK, Roman, Calvin, Scotty, and Ben Scoronic. Um, and we’ll see if they end up keeping a sixth in the weeks to come. But it’s also a possibility here, guys, that Roman Wilson goes out there and the Steelers put all this trust and they give him an opportunity to be this team’s number two receiver and he just doesn’t live up to their to their expectations and he’s not playing very well midway through the season. In that case, I think the Steelers will be buyers on the wide receiver market at the trade deadline and there should be some pretty interesting opportunities at the deadline. I think Adam Thielen could be made available again. I think he would be a good fit here. Tyreek Hill, if the Dolphins are not playing well, I definitely think he’ll be available at the trade deadline. Um, if the Dolphins are kind of crumbling at that point, I think, you know, the Green Bay Packer receivers that we’ve talked about, Christian Watson, Romeo Dos, uh, Dantavian Wixs, those guys will probably be available at the deadline. At least one of them will be. Um, so there will be some opportunities to add at this wide receiver room um, at the trade deadline. But the Steelers feel good about where they’re at right now given their current offensive philosophy and the way that they want to attack opposing defenses. Um, so I think, you know, you go into the year, like I said, DK Metaf number one, Roman Wilson number two, Calvin Austin number three in terms of pure snap count. Okay? And I think that’s kind of their plan going into the year. If you don’t like that plan, I can’t say I necessarily disagree cuz, you know, Calvin and Roman haven’t exactly established themselves as number two options in this league yet. And if in a win now season, you might feel a bit more comfortable adding an Amari Cooper or adding somebody else that could be a legit established number two presence in this receiver room. Um, but the Steelers really seem to like Roman Wilson and he has played well in the preseason and in training camp practices over the last couple of weeks. Um, so it does seem like that’s what the Steelers are going to be doing. All right guys, that’s going to be it for today’s show. Thank you guys so much for making it to the end with me here today. Tomorrow I’ll be back in studio to break down a little bit more from what I’m when I what I see once the all 22 of yesterday’s game comes out. Maybe a little bit more nuance on the offensive line and how they performed. Uh Caleb Johnson. Um you know, any more takeaways that I have from the film, I’ll be sharing with you guys tomorrow. So make sure you guys click that subscribe button if you haven’t already. Till next time, guys. Here we go. Steelers.

Steelers Talk by Chat Sports on Sunday, August 17th, breaks down the latest Steelers news topics Steelers fans want more information on after Pittsburgh’s Week 2 preseason loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last night. What is the latest Nick Herbig injury update after leaving yesterday’s game with a hamstring injury? How does the Bengals shopping Trey Hendrickson via trade affect Pittsburgh’s chances of winning the AFC North this year? Has Roman Wilson earned the chance to be the Steelers’ #2 wide receiver heading into the 2025 NFL season after a strong start to his preseason? Get some answers on today’s edition of Steelers Talk by Chat Sports.

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Here’s some more Steelers YouTube segments for you to check out if you’re looking for more insight on the Black & Gold:
– Steelers News: WINNERS & LOSERS After 17-14 LOSS vs. The Buccaneers In Week 2 Of The Preseason – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ON2WnzuNlms
– Steelers vs. Buccaneers Preseason Week 2 Preview: 5 Storylines Every Steelers Fans Needs To Watch – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qp86NqqJJKQ
– SURPRISE Steelers Cut Candidates After Steelers Training Camp At St. Vincent College In Latrobe – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5bCC3mI1_I

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