The NFL trade deadline came and passed at 4 p.m. Tuesday and, despite some rumblings, the Steelers didn't make a move.
It wasn't all that surprising since the Steelers (4-2-1) haven't made a trade deadline deal in years. But given the fact there were more deals this year than in previous ones, some felt the Steelers might jump into the fray to possibly acquire a cornerback or third receiver.
Mike Tomlin, however, said Tuesday he wasn't all that concerned with the deadline.
"We believe in homegrown talent," Tomlin said. "We invest time and resources into the development of players. Players buy into what we’re selling and work their tails off to improve and be reasons why we’re successful. I think it’s difficult to walk from relationships when people are invested. We’re invested, the players are invested. It is what it is."
The other part of that equation is that, despite some names being bandied about as trade possibilities, there wasn't a cornerback traded Tuesday. Green Bay safety HaHa Clinton-Dix was the only defensive back moved, going to Washington.
The Steelers have had issues at their No. 2 corner spot, with Artie Burns and Coty Sensabaugh splitting time at the position. And Burns was benched last week in a win over Cleveland for missing part of the team walk-through the day before the game.
But Tomlin said the Steelers aren't about to give up on Burns, their 2016 first-round draft pick.
"He had a good week of practice last week," Tomlin said of Burns. "I don’t want to make more out of it than what it is, but he was late, and we wanted to be focused with the guys who were wired-in, appropriately where they needed to be in the hours leading up to kickoff. And so, he suffered the consequences of that. We’ll roll that ball back out and get back on task with him and others this week."
There are a couple of moves perhaps the Steelers could make soon to bolster their offense.
First, now that the trade deadline has passed, it becomes more likely running back Le'Veon Bell reports and signs his franchise tag deal. Bell had expressed a couple of weeks ago in an interview with ESPN he was not interested in playing elsewhere this season.
Also, receiver Eli Rogers is eligible to be activated off the PUP List. Rogers has been out since suffering a torn ACL in last season's playoff loss Jan. 14 to the Jaguars.