Welcome to the Pittsburgh Steelers Weekly Stock Report, where we track the rise and fall of key trends across the team, position groups, standout players, and coaching decisions. Each week, we break down who’s gaining momentum, who’s slipping, and what it all means for the Steelers’ trajectory. This team had high expectations in 2025, and the weekly trends across the group will determine just how far they can go this season.

Let’s dive into the Steelers Stock Report following the team’s losing effort in Week 13 to the Buffalo Bills:

Stock Up

Asante Samuel Jr.

Mike Tomlin eluded Tuesday during his press conference about how the organization had some concern about Samuel Jr. potentially being poached off their practice squad. When he said that, you knew the promotion to the 53-man roster was coming at any time. Did I think it would happen simultaneously with Darius Slay being waived? No, not a chance. However, I think Samuel didn’t just play well on Sunday vs. the Bills, but could be a welcome addition to a Steelers secondary which seems to be trending in the correct direction.

Joey Porter Jr.

Speaking of that direction, a large reason why the Steelers secondary has their arrow pointing up is the improved play of Joey Porter Jr. To me, this is a few weeks overdue, but the Steelers cornerback has been a pleasant surprise this year. The penalties have decreased, his tackling has improved, and his overall play seems to have stabilized. Entering a critical offseason, Porter Jr. has shown he is capable of improvement. Porter has been a bright spot for the defense the second half of the season.

Stock Down

Mike Tomlin

Whether you’re talking about the “Fire Tomlin” chants, or every pundit with a microphone talking about Tomlin needing to be gone, the stock has never been lower on the team’s head coach. The players are standing behind their head coach, as they should, but the fan base has flipped on the veteran coach. Every coach’s time comes to an end, and while no one knows if this will be Tomlin’s swan song in Pittsburgh, this season has been rough to watch. Tomlin’s stock is down…way down.

T.J. Watt

When the Steelers locked up T.J. Watt this offseason to a hefty long term deal, there were fans who had their hesitation. The pause was real, and so was the reasoning behind it. Watt was over 30, and the history of pass rushers remaining effective after 30 years of age wasn’t good. But fans kept thinking if there was a player who could change that trend, it would be T.J. Watt, right?!

This season hasn’t been the best for Watt, and his production has slipped, despite being healthy. The statistic below from Matt Williams, of Steelers.com, about Watt’s get-off is telling.

TJ Watt’s get-off was 0.75 seconds in 2022, then 0.79 in 2023, 0.83 in 2024 and now 0.87 in 2025.

— Matt Williamson (@WilliamsonNFL) December 2, 2025

I’m not about to write Watt is done and can’t still make plays, he’s proven he can. I’m also not about to write how Watt isn’t making things happen for other defenders as well. But I’m also not going to say I haven’t seen some slipping in Watt’s overall play.

Aaron Rodgers

I still believe Rodgers was the best option for the Steelers this offseason, especially if they weren’t going to pay the hefty price tag for a quarterback like Sam Darnold. However, the Rodgers experiment hasn’t worked out the way many expected, or hoped. The stat below, again from Matt Williamson of Steelers.com, shows how limited the Steelers passing game has been in recent weeks:

Pittsburgh is 0 of 10 on passes of 20+ air yards since Week 9.

— Matt Williamson (@WilliamsonNFL) December 3, 2025

What Rodgers brings to the team from a pre-snap perspective still has value, but the physical results certainly haven’t been there. Throw in the injured wrist, and the production and play has been sub-par.

Marquez Valdez-Scantling

The Steelers were looking for receiving help heading down the stretch, and they chose to sign veteran Adam Thielen. To think Marquez Valdez-Scantling (MVS) has been on the practice squad for well over a month now, and the team chose to go with Thielen should tell you everything you want to know about how the team views MVS. You might say it has to do with route running and style, but MVS is nothing more than insurance in case a player like DK Metcalf gets injured. That’s just the hard truth, and shows his arrow is certainly pointing downard.

Jonnu Smith

When the Steelers acquired Jonnu Smith in the Minkah Fitzpatrick trade everyone thought the team has acquired their WR2. Instead, they got a receiver with the following stat line heading into Week 14:

30 receptions, 190 yards, 6.3 ave., 21 long, 2 TDs

Throw in the fact Smith is also having some mental mistakes of not being on the same page with Aaron Rodgers and the talk of him being WR2 absolutely seems hasty at the time. Then again, hindsight is always 20/20. Needless to say, Smith has not been the factor many thought he’d be.

Pat Freiermuth

When the Steelers gave Freiermuth a new contract two offseasons ago, everyone thought the team had their trustworthy tight end for the foreseeable future. Last week he played just 17 snaps, 9 of those being pass plays, and that number has been trending in the wrong directions. Rodgers suggests they want to see him more, yet that isn’t happening. Freiermuth has been a team-first guy all season, but it’s at this point when you have to ask why the Steelers would utilize their tight end room the way they have. Not a good look either way.

Be sure to stay tuned to SCN for the latest news and notes surrounding the Steelers as they prepare for the Buffalo Bills in Week 13 of the 2025 NFL regular season.