Steelers Didn't Make A Move With Bears On Deadline Day Due To Rich Asking Price

The 24-year-old cornerback had requested a trade and had been granted permission by the team to try and find a new home. According to reports, Pittsburgh had been among the front runners to acquire him.

Pittsburgh reshaped its cornerback room pretty heavily during the 2023 offseason. Cam Sutton, who played an important role on the defense in 2022, departed for the Detroit Lions in free agency. Veterans Patrick Peterson and Chandon Sullivan were brought over from the Minnesota Vikings to try to lessen the blow of losing Sutton. The team invested draft picks in lengthy corners Joey Porter Jr. and Cory Trice Jr. The only returning faces with major playing time in 2022 were Levi Wallace and James Pierre. 

The team also tried out former Houston Texans cornerback Desmond King II after his release. He was used primarily as a kick returner, only getting one snap on defense before Pittsburgh let him go. The Steelers were waiting for King to get acclimated with the defense before getting him involved in the defensive game plan. That never materialized and King was let go on Oct 18. He was replaced by rookie cornerback Darius Rush, who was signed off the Indianapolis Colts practice squad. 

There are a few reasons besides the price of a second-round pick that may have soured Pittsburgh General Manager Omar Khan on making a deal for Johnson. First is that he only has the rest of this year on contract and it could be a costly rental. 

Second, as seen with the King experiment, Pittsburgh likes to give new acquisitions a real runway to learn before throwing them in the fire. With no bye week left, the coaching staff might not have felt comfortable bringing him in without being able to have that extra time for him to get used to the defense. Finally, the team is giving Porter Jr. more and more time to acclimate himself to the NFL and might also want to incorporate Rush, who is already part of the program. 

Johnson will be an unrestricted free agent in the 2024 offseason, so it's certainly possible that Khan and the Steelers circle back on the 24-year-old then if their interest is as significant as was reported. 

Steelers And Bears Nearly Trade Partners Again 

If Pittsburgh was indeed as close to getting Johnson as some reports have speculated, it would've marked a second straight deadline that Khan and Bears General Manager Ryan Poles came together for some business. As Steelers fans will fondly remember, Khan was able to fetch a second-round pick in the 2023 draft for disappointing receiver Chase Claypool at the 2022 NFL trade deadline. 

Claypool had fallen largely out of favor in Pittsburgh and fetching a second-round pick was considered a very strong move for Khan. It became even better when the pick turned into the first pick of the 2023 second round and Pittsburgh landed Porter Jr.