Kovacevic: Claypool trade finally addresses burning question at hand

So, anyway, there's that answer I'd been after.

Meaning the authentic answer.

Sunday afternoon in Philadelphia, after the Steelers' latest lopsided-on-all-levels loss, I'd asked Mike Tomlin if he might weigh altering his approach for the remainder of the season to reflect the team's place in the standings, as well as developing its relatively young roster.

This was the five-second response:

"No," he came right back after a put-off shake of the head. "We're going to build plans to win games on the weekends that we play, I promise you."

That might well prove true, but it won't be with the strongest possible roster this season. If only because, for all of Chase Claypool's shortcomings, he'd still outperform a draft choice that's months away from being made.

For anyone who missed it, the Steelers made two trades before the NFL's 4 p.m. deadline Tuesday:

• Dealt Claypool to the Bears for a 2023 second-rounder

• Acquired veteran cornerback William Jackson III from the Commanders for a conditional swap of sixth- and seventh-round picks in 2025.

The latter means next to nothing, of course. Jackson's 30, Washington was about to release him, immediate help's needed in the secondary and, hey, whatever.

But that other one ... wow. And I don't mean wow in the I-can't-believe-they'd-trade-Claypool context but, rather, in the I-can't-believe-they're-really-rebuilding context. 

Because, make no mistake, that's what this signifies. No matter what Tomlin'll say Wednesday when he's expected to meet with reporters after practice -- a session that hadn't been scheduled until after the trade -- that's absolutely, positively, unequivocally what this signifies. If this team were in anything remotely resembling contention, if this management and/or coaching staff had any faith that there could be some 2013-like turnaround at hand, they'd never let Claypool go at midseason.

Again, that's not to suggest he's some indispensable piece. He isn't. He's got 32 catches on 50 targets for 311 yards and a touchdown. And of his 12 touchdowns in two-plus NFL seasons, 10 came in his rookie year after being the Steelers' second-round pick out of Notre Dame.

I like Claypool ...

... and I still like his potential, too. But they'll live. I for-real wouldn't be surprised if Miles Boykin out-produces him this season and, further, I wouldn't be surprised if the Steelers wouldn't have wanted him back next spring, anyway.

It's also not to suggest -- like, at all -- that there wasn't fair return. If anything, I'm outright stunned the Bears would offer a second-rounder, the same price paid not all that long ago for DeAndre Hopkins, for crying out loud -- and I don't fault Tomlin or Omar Khan for a split-second for snapping it up.

They'll likely wind up with a superior player.

But ... wow to anything at all that's related to this franchise and points toward anything beyond the very next game on the schedule.

Seriously, can anyone recall anything like it?

I vividly recall when Ben Roethlisberger went down early in the 2019 season and the near-universal outcry was to sell off parts in similar exchanges. Only to have management give up a first-rounder for Minkah Fitzpatrick in what might've been the most Steelers move/timing ever.

Rebuild?

Ha! That's for losers!

Well, rebuilding is for losers ... out of necessity. Because it becomes vital. The players at hand aren't good enough. The depth chart's as shallow as a Matt Canada route tree. The poise, the passion, the discipline, the dogfight, none of them are good enough. My goodness, they don't even study enough, according to the rookie quarterback with four NFL starts to his resume.

Let me state this plainly: This is the right approach. 

Here's the thing, though: World history shows us that those who lead a revolution are seldom the right figures to govern afterward. And the same principle holds true in the reverse.

What precedent supports the notion that Tomlin's the right choice for a task like this?

Or that he'd want to be that choice?

What's more, even if Tomlin and Khan happen to be optimal fits, will they have the fortitude to make all of the needed changes? Like acknowledging that it's not just the older players who are lacking? Like firing Canada? Like conducting actual national searches for coordinator and assistant coaching jobs? Like deep-diving into the dud drafts over the past half-decade that've been salvaged almost entirely by the T.J. Watt pick? 

What a time, my friends. What a time.

But it's now officially on the clock.