The allegedly “all-in” Pittsburgh Steelers stayed out of NFL trade deadline moves.

Tuesday’s 4 p.m. deadline came and went. The Steelers did nothing.

How come?

Well, there are a few explanations — none of which I really like.

• It’s possible the Steelers feel that their 27-20 upset of the Colts on Sunday got them back on the track they need to make noise in the playoffs with no major additions to their roster.

That’s unlikely, since coach Mike Tomlin (accurately) pointed out in his postgame press conference that they are “the same group that stunk it up last week.”

• Tomlin made that comment about the defense specifically. Perhaps the organization thinks its need at safety has been addressed by moving Jalen Ramsey there and trading for Kyle Dugger last week.

But given that the coach still brought up the depth issues at that position Tuesday afternoon — with DeShon Elliott and Jabrill Peppers injured and Chuck Clark sick — it strikes me that some additional help at that position would’ve been useful.

To say nothing of cornerback being weakened by Ramsey moving to safety for the immediate future.

• You could argue that the Steelers got the receiving help they needed by signing Marquez Valdes-Scantling.

However, Tomlin threw cold water on that notion by dismissively referring to him as “just a practice squader right now” during his Tuesday presser.

“Get him in the fold and get him working,” Tomlin added. “Check his overall level of conditioning, how he learns and some of those things. It is not the Dugger discussion. He’s just a practice squad guy.”

So maybe the answer simply is that general manager Omar Khan did some “shopping” (as Mike Tomlin described) and he found the price tags to be too high for certain players of interest.

The Steelers were linked to Las Vegas receiver Jakobi Meyers and New Orleans pass catcher Rashid Shaheed.

Meyers went to the Jacksonville Jaguars for fourth- and sixth-round picks. The Seattle Seahawks got Shaheed for a fourth-round and a fifth-round pick.

If Khan and Tomlin were truly interested in either player, they should’ve gladly met or exceeded those packages for either receiver. The Steelers have a potential of 12 picks next year, including multiple picks in the third, fourth, fifth and sixth rounds. Hoarding all of those picks when receiver is still a significant need seems silly to me.

Especially if Valdes-Scantling is truly “just a practice squad guy.”

It makes you wonder what other trades may have been out there for a safety, corner or defensive lineman of similar value that fell apart because Khan was unwilling to part with picks in April for a team that needs help in November.

That doesn’t sound “all in” to me.

That’s probably because the Steelers aren’t really “all in” on this year’s team. I said back in July that phrase was social media hyperbole and a fan/media misnomer. 

That was a term and a narrative that was foisted upon the Steelers more than it was one that Tomlin and Khan drummed up on their own.

Advancing the “historic” defense chatter? Eh, that’s a different story. That one is on the coach.

But for the Steelers to ever admit they are “all in” on any year would also be admitting that they haven’t been in some recent seasons, and that they probably can’t be again in 2026 or ‘27.

That’s just not how the Steelers operate.

That doesn’t mean they couldn’t have added a receiver or a DB on Tuesday, though. Certainly, with the market prices and their collection of picks, they could’ve. Khan just chose to avoid doing so.

One injury to DK Metcalf or Ramsey, and that’s a choice he’ll soon regret.

LISTEN: Tim Benz and Joe Rutter discuss a quiet trade deadline for the Steelers.

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