NFL Insider Jason La Canfora’s Week 7 Notebook: Pittsburgh Steelers Could Make Late Move For McConkey or Thomas Jr.

This was supposed to be the year the Pittsburgh Steelers fell off. PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA – JANUARY 12: Head coach Mike Tomlin of the Pittsburgh Steelers looks on before the game against the Houston Texans at Acrisure Stadium on January 12, 2026 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Joe Sargent/Getty Images) It was supposed to be the reckoning for them. Future Hall of Fame head coach Mike Tomlin, who remarkably never had a losing season in a generation at the helm there, moved on to the broadcast booth (at least temporarily) and they ran it back with much of the same roster. With quarterback Aaron Rodgers a year older, they are 5-2 coming back from a win in London to face the Browns in a revenge spot from an earlier loss before heading to a bye. This team wins ugly, same as it ever was. This team just finds a way to make a play when it really needs it, in order to win ugly. This team seems to have a playoff birthright – or at least a yearly mandate to go into Week 18 still with playoff potential – every year. There is no reason to believe this season, their first under new coach Mike McCarthy, will be any different. Trust me, within that team headquarters, everyone knows that merely getting in the dance to then bow out meekly is not the goal. They know that Tomlin’s lack of playoff success late in his career was part of the reason so many fans wanted to move on, even knowing they’d always, at the very least, win more games than they lose. That’s also why I would anticipate this team makes a move or two by the trade deadline. From what we gather, the Steelers brass understands that adding another play maker to this offense – even after making a bold trade for DJ Metcalf from Seattle not that long ago – is likely in order. The immediate connection between Rogers and Metcalf that so many expected, just has yet to materialize through a season-and-a-half together and banking on that changing, as the weather turns and downfield passing becomes more difficult, seems foolish. Rodgers is completing just 58% of his passes to Metcalf in 21 games together, with just seven touchdowns to three interceptions, and while many question if the routes Metcalf runs downfield are low-percentage, there still isn’t much outward chemistry. “They can’t really get on the same page, can they?” said one personnel executive who has watched the Steelers. Former Steelers offensive coordinator Todd Haley, a longtime NFL head coach, watched Pittsburgh’s film closely and kind of summed up Metcalf running a limited route tree, heavy on go routes. “Kind of a one-trick pony,” Haley observed. You can’t run a passing game through him and the tight ends would get more involved with a second outside threat. With second-round pick Germie Bernard looking like Pittsburgh’s latest draft gem, and someone who can do the most damage in the slot, (“that kid has earned the quarterback’s trust,” the exec said), adding a piece on the outside who can do more on crossers and working the middle of the field might help fortify another playoff run. After decades of being a stodgy front office, the Steelers are wheeler-dealers now. One scout suggested to me someone like the Chargers Ladd McConkey might be the kind of guy Rodgers would enjoy throwing to and working with to help sustain drives. Brian Thomas Jr. of the Jaguars is another name to keep an eye on. Saints Roster ‘Not Built For Short or Long Term Prospects’ The Saints generated some hype by finishing strong last season and taking advantage of an easy schedule, but this franchise has not turned the corner. Quarterback Tyler Shough (in just his second season but not young after a long college career) remains painfully erratic. The roster seems to be in no man’s land and the decisions to keep Alvin Kamara and Cam Jordan are not paying off. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see this franchise do something that’s been put off and abstained from for the most part during Mickey Loomis’s long run there – sell off talent. This team has kicked the can forever from a contract and salary cap standpoint and tried to avoid being in a deep rebuild. However, it certainly looks like former head coach Sean Payton got out at the right time and it’s getting messy in New Orleans. Ownership is miffed, years of bloated spending is catching up to them and people around the league who are generally plugged into the Saints believe they will start shedding players after a 2-5 start. They are certainly still in the mix in the pedestrian NFC South, but merely chasing a 9-8 season and hoping that mediocrity with the right tie breakers gets them in the dance is not holding weight. “I’m not sure that roster is built for the short-term or the long-term,” is how one GM, who was not bullish on the Saints, summed them up to me this summer. He may be right, and while some were championing 2027 as a breakthrough season, New Orleans has a -27 first-half scoring differential; they aren’t nearly talented enough to overcome that week after week. Kickers Chaos Continues Around The League There are a number of contending teams who are quite unsettled at kicker, and some recent draft picks at that position who are struggling, including rookie Trey Smack (Green Bay). Some smart GM is going to land veteran Joe Slye from the Titans – he has been quietly excellent on a terrible team for years, makes just $2M and is a pending free agent, so it’s a cheap, pure rental. One GM suggested to me the 49ers, who always need a kicker and have a good relationship with Titans coach Robert Saleh (former San Francisco defensive coordinator), as a candidate. The Rams would make sense, too. We continue to hear the Eagles are hopeful of straddling the line at the deadline and both moving some contracts but also adding pieces that could help them win the lowly NFC East this season. Around The Leagues; Speculation Continues Between Tomlin And New York I asked a longtime personnel guy for a hunch on a team that could surprise at the deadline. He threw a dart at Seattle. GM John Schneider has exhibited a creative approach to in-season trades in the past, is anything but risk averse, and with the defense getting healthier, he is the kind of exec who likes to provide a jolt to his locker room midseason. The Jets inability to manage the final two minutes of a half is just the kind of fodder owner Woody Johnson needs to justify an in-season coaching change. Frank Reich, already running the offense, is the perfect interim guy, and we continue to hear Johnson wants to be positioned to land a big fish like Tomlin in 2027. The post NFL Insider Jason La Canfora’s Week 7 Notebook: Pittsburgh Steelers Could Make Late Move For McConkey or Thomas Jr. appeared first on Casino.org.