Steelers trade rumors: Brandon Aiyuk trade now a serious possibility? What will GM Omar Khan spend?

Intro Chris Carter here in the Northshore Drive podcast from the Pittsburgh Post cazette we're going to be joined by Brian batco and we're going to talk about the Brandon iuk potential trade that has been on everyone's Minds all week long there's a lot going into this how involved are the Steelers really in talks you'll get both of our thoughts on that as well as our first look at the Steelers depth chart here on the Northshore Drive podcast from the Pittsburgh Post cazette let's get into it you are now listening to the Northshore Drive podcast a show on all things Pittsburgh sports from the writers of the Pittsburgh Post cazette hosted by Christopher [Music] Carter hello and welcome to the Show Open Northshore Drive podcast from the Pittsburgh Post Gazette we're we're Chris Carter and Brian batco Brian one of our great Steelers beat Riders here and we're going to be bringing to you all the Steelers talk that that you can handle today because there's a lot stuff to break down especially on the tra potential trade front with Brandon IU we'll be getting into all of that but as always this show is you be find the show on your favorite podcasting app and on YouTube like this video if you enjoy it subscribe to this channel to get all the Monday Wednesday Friday episodes of the Northshore Drive podcast as well as all the daily content that comes out from our Sports Riders here at the Pittsburgh Post Gazette and as always this show is brought to you by Mike's beer bar the best bar of Pittsburgh when you go to Mike's beer bar they' 500 different available beers 300 of those beers are from the local Pittsburgh area and 80 of those local beers are available on tap they have amazing food they're amazing Place go check them out we'll have more on them later Brian it seems like it Brandon Aiyuk trade never ends the Brandon IU talk has been going on really since March the potential of of the Steelers trading for him him being on the market I no to some it can be exhausting but as the talks continue to quote unquote heat up or at least the rumors of the talks continue to heat up how serious do you think the Steelers are as players in and actually having a chance to get Brandon I at this point yeah Chris I mean it's I think they're serious players I mean we know we've known since he went on what was it the pivot podcast with Ryan Clark and right flat out said on the record if he's not in San Francisco next year he his top two teams he'd want to go to play for next would be Washington or Pittsburg so I mean we know where he wants to be he's made that pretty clear I don't think any of the new reporting from various sources uh Tuesday or or Monday night really shed any additional light on that if Cleveland or New England were on that short list for him he would have said it on that show so in that sense I mean we've we've kind of been in that mode and I think as far as the Steelers I've um you know I've heard they they they have been there has been interest you know probably going back to the draft after or earlier um Omar KH has said he's always in talks with the other 31 GMS you don't have to really go out on a limb to guess what he'd be talking to the ners about considering they have a pro bowl caliber receiver who is at an impass with his contract with them so uh I think you know every smart team that has even a minuscule need at wide receiver would owe it to themselves to look into this seems like it's been distilled down to the Steelers Browns Patriots as the most serious contenders you never know the NFL's had some wild deals in recent years maybe somebody will swoop in out of nowhere who's not on the radar there's probably a lot of smoke screens getting put up a lot of misdirection via the media but I think all it really comes down to is what we've been saying for months on this front Omar Khan is not afraid to be aggressive but he's not going to be foolish and get duped in a deal by anybody even a front office as uh strong as San Francisco is with John Lynch as their GM they make a lot of shrewd moves but Omar's going to be patient I think he's going to be calculating he's going to be Analytical in all of this and I'd say one of his strengths so far since taking over this rule from Kevin Colbert he seems to get some pretty good deals for himself and the Steelers at least on paper and literally as we're recording Adam Schefter report this late Tuesday evening uh before Wednesday's practice Adam schfer reports that uh the Patriots have decided not to explore any further trade possibilities with the 49ers regarding Brandon iuk so maybe the Patriots you know out of that consideration now another team of Steelers might not have to contend with here Brian Haven they been said to be out before so all this is very fluid the Steelers were reportedly out and then yes you had shefer saying they re-engaged that was the big word of the day Tuesday re-engaged trade talks and again that's probably Omar Khan picking up the phone when it rings and I imagine it's a lot of you know where we stand you know where we've stood for a while we have this value on this player let us know if that works for you and see Should the Steelers trade Aiyuk that's where I'm at Brian is that I really think this whole people are saying oh the Steelers have to come with a better better offer I think Omar Khan is sitting there saying No this is what we said we'd give this is what you'll take if you want to give it up if not those Steelers will move on and you and I have talked about this I'm not 100% sure that you know just getting you know Brandon iuk makes this team a Super Bowl Contender if you get Brandon I you got all the financial things that have to come with it because he's probably making at least $30 million a year with with the Steelers moving forward and what that might do to its future salary caps concerns when they have to sign Pat fryou George Pickins uh resigned TJ Watt and a number of other things on top of keeping one of these two quarterbacks whoever they want to think should be around long term so and that's not to say that they shouldn't do it but these are serious considerations to have there and if I'm the Steelers I'm thinking like you know what I'm not trying to give up major draft capital or major Capital period to get this guy when I'm gonna have to pay major salary cap on top of that to keep him after that so if I'm if I'm the Steelers in this situ situation I I feel like the smart move is to stay pet and if someone wants to leap and go get him go ahead fun leap and go get him and I think that's where the ners they're trying to play this game where they're trying to wait out the Steelers they're trying to say hey maybe we'll get them to Blink maybe they'll jump up and then they'll have that make it happen but I also have to think if I'm the ners at some point I might say you know what we'll PR we'll pay Brandon iuk for a year Brandon play for a year next year you'll be on the open market you'll make whatever you want from wherever you want but this is a a team that's been on the verge of of winning a Super Bowl for some time now and this is they need to strike now which is another reason I think that maybe they want to be looking at some of these other teams including the Browns because if they can get an Amari Cooper someone else that can contribute to them right now versus a draft pick from the Steelers that won't help them win right now that might be a better look in the eyes of GM John Lynch yeah but here's the flip side of that though Chris and I I understand that argument but I mean we've seen the ners make some um you know kind of kind of wild and crazy moves over these last few years whether it was was the Trey Lance deal or um you know Christian mcaffrey so I wouldn't put it past them to take a pick right now if if they feel like that's the best resource they can get back from yes let's say the Steelers in this case because that's who we care about that's who we talk about every day take a a high pick and then you flip that to somebody else for a player that can help you in 2024 I mean it is only August 7th as we're recording this and you know things do happen fast in the NFL but things also happen slowly sometimes in the NFL so I think that's where you know people on the outside the the the fans get kind of all up in arms about you know why isn't this happening yet when's it going to get done why hasn't it gotten done there there's there have probably been stops and starts in these conversations where it's like all right we're going to think about this offer we're now for the ners we got to go back talk to Brandon auk in his Camp see how far apart we are again maybe or at least how real is this possibility that he's just going to keep holding out and drive that hard of a bargain for us and the longer this goes on we're losing developmental time with our team or somebody else that that we could you know get in here if we need to so those are all considerations for the ners um I mean it's it's going to be very very intriguing to see where this ends up um you know you I think back to some of the high-profile player sagas in in recent years in the NFL and you know Lamar Jackson and the Ravens one that stands out to me for sure I think you know right up there with San Francisco and and the Steelers as some of the best front offices in the NFL at the moment that one seemed like there was no putting the toothpaste back in the tube with Lamar and it was over and it was done he wasn't going to be in purple anymore and then all of a sudden and all of a sudden you know they come back to the table and they sing kumay on make good I I think it's less likely that's going to happen with auk because he's not a quarterback he's not Lamar but you know teams teams can have a way of uh yeah I mean not showing their full hand to a player until they need to or vice versa um so I mean yeah I I don't think there's probably been a uh a a Steelers trade rumor tornado quite like this one in a while it's been pretty wild we'll Sponsor keep you up to date with all of that at the Pittsburgh Post Gazette postgazette.com we still got a more to break down here on the North Shore Drive podcast including the first official depth chart of the Season we'll go over all sides of that next here on the Northshore Drive podcast but first want to remind you this show is brought to you by Mike beer bar the best bar in all of Pittsburgh and I am not speaking hyperbole I'm not exaggerating it is the best bar in all the Pittsburgh why they have over 500 different available beer that's right 500 available beers over 300 of them are from the local Pittsburgh area and 80 of those local beers are available on tap all day every day and when you go there they're always switching new ones in and out so that you can always find new things to try that are from around the area you can learn what are the best beer options in the city plus they have amazing food like steak on a stone where you can get your choice cut of steak brought to you on a heated Stone every time you cut up a piece just press it into the stone and you choose how well done you want every single bike all in the place that has an amazing Sports atmosphere right across the street from PNC Park great for before during after Pirates games great to watch the Olympics great to watch anything that's going on as they over for 20 televisions it's Mike beerbar the best bar on the Pittsburgh go there today when you get there tell them Chris [Music] [Music] CI back here in the Northshore Drive Steelers depth chart podcast Chris Carter Brian batco Pittsburgh Post Gazette Brian let's take a look at this Steelers depth chart I want to start on the offensive side of the ball I feel like there was a lot of chalk in this depth chart not much surprises but as there shouldn't be it's the first depth chart of the season there's not going to be too much shakeups here just for everyone just so they can hear it as they're listening to this as they're going through the show uh your starters on the offensive line uh Dan Moore left tackle starter Isaac sealo left guard Nate Herby at Center James Daniels Right Guard brck Jones right tackle Pat fouth your top tight end Naji Harris your top running back Russell Wilson your top quarterback fullback is Conor Hayward not Jack ketto we'll get into that uh your but your top receivers George Pickins van Jefferson and Calvin Austin all three listed as starters in this offense now all that being said here Brian um I thought there were a couple interesting things Troy falano this is the second left tackle but anyone who sees that I think that is just a formality it's probably like he probably the first tackle Off the Bench uh whoever gets whoever gets hurt and they'll try find to made make it work we saw Troy fanu playing first team right tackle with Rodrick Jones and left for the for the first time really uh for an extended period on Tuesday at practice here but there is there anything else that stands out to you about this about this offensive depth chart here Brian that either could change or kind of make you know something that you're putting a pin in for now not really I mean I think a lot of the times these depth charts especially in August I mean they're they're not even worth the paper that they're printed on or in this case who even prints out a depth chart anymore they're not even worth the tab that you open on your phone to look at it um I mean again like as you mentioned there Chris I mean for all practicality sake Troy fanu is the backup at right tackle yeah at the moment and if you wanted to do a depth chart that is the essence of what's going on he'd be the top backup at both tackle spots probably or you'd put brri Jones as the top backup to Dan Moore at left tackle um so I mean that kind of stuff doesn't really make a ton of sense uh I mean you've got Cordo Patterson listed here at at running back even though he hasn't done anything in Camp on that NFI list but you know you don't have a guy like Camp Sutton listed on defense I believe because he's suspended so um yeah a lot of it is just sort of he's he's listed but he's third team behind beanie bishop and grayan Arnold uh I assume because he's going to be out for the first eight games of the season so yeah I mean a lot of these are just it it's kind of what you're seeing in real life but kind of not because we know it wouldn't be that simple if you had a game tomorrow and you'd have to Manu you know you'd have to navigate where these guys are going on the dep chart we talked with Ray about Offensive line his 53 man roster projection uh earlier this week on the Monday episode of the North Shore Drive podcast but Brian you know looking at the offensive line you know obviously keeping you know certain guys like the the starting five right now Troy falanu Zack Frasier and you know and Mason mccor because he was a draft pick and a rookie here but you're looking at how the Steelers want to assemble this crew who who else are you keeping in this offense the way that this depth chart look uh Spencer Anderson your number two left guard uh Dylan cook listed as your number two right tackle here is it simply as just the first and second teams on on this depth chart and you move forward or is there something else that we could be missing no I I think it's pretty much the first and second team and I would say minus Dylan cook I think it's it's probably him and Spencer Anderson fighting it out for that ninth and Final oine spot and that Anderson's versatility will help him there you know Dan morr is still I think has some value as you know his ability to play left tackle you're working Troy falanu so much on the right side that you know you're you're going to have to kind of keep all three of those uh obviously no matter right what happens we know they wouldn't get rid of one of the first rounders but I'm sure there are people out there thinking if Dan Moore is not starting does he make the team I think he still would so um I mean I think that will will play out and knock on wood there are no injuries my biggest takeaway with the offensive depth chart Chris if I were Matt sool or Aaron Champlin and I'm listed as a fifth Stringer here they're the only two guys listed as fifth string on the whole roster I think I'd walk into my position coach's office Tom tomorrow and be like what the heck man fifth string you couldn't have just like fit me in like with one of these other guys on the fourth string do I really need to be single out here as a fifth Stringer what are we doing I'm working my butt off I'm I'm I'm taking advantage of every opportunity you give me and I'm in the fifth string this is this is ridiculous it is it does seem like a very harsh thing like buddy this is how far out that you that you're being positioned right you know what the response would be from the position coach or Mike tomin whoever it be like like bro we we care so little right now about the guys fourth and fifth string we just like ran out of space and it's pretty much names out of a hat yeah I mean we just we just all your names are bunched up at the end sorry man it's I mean but that's kind of what it is it's kind of when people ask me like what do I think of d Edwards I think that D Edward is not gonna make the team that's that you know if he he'll be happy to make the practice squad right now that's that's what I really think of of those situations and again it's not to minimize the effort that these guys put in because you know we talk about these guys oh they're fourth and fifth Stringer they're still amazing athletes these are guys that busted their whole butts these are the best of the best of the best to get to the NFL period and that that deserves it but when we're if we're talking if we're giving you real analysis of how depth chart is eventually going to play out yeah those guys aren AR aren't going to be on it in a couple if I want to get really into the weeds and I guess I do I feel like Jonathan Ward has been running ahead of L Michel perine and yet you've got perine listed as a third Stringer Jonathan Ward as a fourth Stringer but in all seriousness as we kind of start keeping our eye on that first preseason game game I think Ward is somebody who could have a really strong preseason with the Steelers he he looks fast you can see why he's been been on several NFL teams despite going undrafted in 2020 he's really productive in college at Central Michigan looks like a guy who's still got some juice and I mean he could he could pile up the yardage now in the preseason and if and if a guy like Cordo patteron is not able to get that hammy right by the regular season maybe Ward is is your third running back in in this equation maybe and I think Sponsors Cordo Patterson was my guy going into the going into training camp and we haven't seen him so yeah that's certainly a very interesting thing to look at there I want to flip over to defense we'll do that next here on the Northshore Drive podcast from the Pittsburgh Post Gazette Chris Carter Brian batco answering all all all all things there uh but first want to remind you that this show is brought to you by seenus Kane and guchi they are your mes and as bestus lawyers with over 85 years of experience call them today free free consultation that is seenus Kane and yuchi were also brought to you by Moon Township Honda you can find Moon Township Honda at 5802 University Boulevard Moon Township Pennsylvania or on their website Moon honda.com now for our message from our friends at Moon Township Honda to build the Honda CRV hybrid we took everything you love about the CRV and kicked it up a notch with greater power for a CRV unlike any before Adventure confidently with Honda car and driver's most awarded brand and 10 best history the CRV and CRV Hybrid part of the Honda line of buged vehicles visit your local Honda dealer for new vehicles or arriving date buy online or Reserve from select Honda dealers [Music] [Music] Defensive Depth Chart we're back here in the north store drve podcast from the Pittsburgh Post cazette Chris Carter Brian batco breaking all things down here we switched to the defensive side to look at the the Steelers dep chart at least the first proposed dep chart of the season from the team here um again a lot of chalk a lot of expect expectations being met here um but a few things that I thought were very interesting among the starters Keanu beton solidifying himself as the nose tackle on the starting starters on the defensive line um I thought that was significant but the other thing here and I think this is very rare Brian I want to ask if you think you've seen this in your time cover the Steelers an undrafted rookie free agent is the starter on a depth chart and that's beanie Bishop of course at slot corner at Nickelback now again this is you know could be partially impacted by the fact Cameron Sutton listed third team and he would you know maybe he would be that starter if he wasn't you know about to be suspended for the first you know eight games of the season but looking at the at at this depth chart Brian can you think back to a time where an undrafted free agent not and we know Mike Hilton but Mike Hilton wasn't that right away he had he earned his way into it beanie Bishop's kind of been this guy in training camp from start to finish and Hilton was with uh I think the Jaguars first even before the Steelers so it's not like he was a priority free agent signing in Pittsburgh yeah this is this is pretty unprecedented I think for Beanie Bishop clearly they like him we we keep getting more and more signs of that being the case this depth chart yet another one but it's just just reflecting what we're seeing in real life out there on the field you know he's somebody who if he didn't play well early on could have easily started seeding some of those reps to guys with more NFL chops like Grayland Arnold Thomas Graham Jr both of whom have made plays at times you know the cam Sutton thing is is interesting because and and I'll tell you why I think cam Sutton's you know usage or lack thereof is another signal of the confidence they have in beanie Bishop as not that they're just not using cam Sutton at all in team periods they are at times but it's usually at safety so it sort of makes me think you know they are liking what they're seeing so much from beanie Bishop that they're sort of making peace with the idea of him being the guy all season in holding down that nickel Corner Spot as a rookie and when Sutton is available to them again maybe they'll be toying around with him more as a safety subpackage guy as opposed to all right Beanie get out of the way time for me to get the job back um you know this is months down the line to figure that out but yeah I mean it's it's just you know more early indications of Bishop playing well taking to this role even as an undrafted rookie but we've said on the show before helps when you're a 24 year old undrafted rookie who's played a lot of ball six seasons in college and thrived last year at West Virginia you have the production to back it up you have have the you know 40 time and and everything that you want to see just older guy smaller guy but uh that that's doesn't seem to be preventing him from making a really strong first impression with the Beanie Bishop Steelers I think that it's been very encouraging to see how he's taking on and he's he's not run away from challenges he's been he's been right up in the face of the first team he's been taking on receivers left and right he's gotten beat but he's also bounced back from getting beat and I think that that's been really important too is sometimes you know rookies can play well but when they hit that first of adversity or they're knocked on their but how do they get back up from that not everyone gets back up from it well I think beanie Bishop has at times and that's the kind of tenacity you want to see from especially a slot Corner who's going to be tasked with a lot of Dirty Jobs throughout the season just the the nature of the position position itself let's look around the defensive depth chart a little bit here defensive line there any surprises that you have here Demar Vel second second team you know he's a guy that was being healthily scratched last year while guys like louder milk were still on on the roster um does that or anything else of this defensive line surprise you or raise your eyebrow at all no but it it does appear to be a for the whole front seven really it's a depth chart of maybe where guys would be working in practice if everyone were healthy because you see Dean Lowry on here as a second team defensive end he's been on the pup list since training camp started uh I guess this is telling us that if he were healthy or once he gets healthy uh he's going to slot in with the second group um but at least for right now uh we haven't seen him we haven't seen what he's able to do it's providing more opportunities for Isaiah Loudermilk who if you want to sort of knit you know pick knits not great for him to be a third teamer at this stage of of his career and I I think all of us who've done any sort of roster analysis or projections pieces you know he's on the bubble he's he's very much On The Fringe I think he's going to end up being on the wrong side but we'll see uh obviously Lowry being injured could could certainly help louder milk at least in the early part of the season to get on that 53 and another guy that I just want to mention not on the D line but again in that front seven at inside linebacker Cole hul third teamer I mean almost seems kind of randomly thrown in there we haven't even seen him uh at in I mean not only is he still recovering from that uh significant leg injury sustained last season but he also just had his first kid so probably a lot going on in Cole Hulk's world uh he was around the team throughout OTAs in mini camp but yeah I mean it's I didn't even expect him to be on this depth chart but maybe if he does manage to get back to the field you know put put him behind know pyton Wilson Tyler mavich because could be a while for him to get back up to speed and that's sort of where they would start him out in theory if he's able to do that yeah I I think it's Steelers linebackers going to certainly you know see be interesting to see how that impacts because you know what I I've been very impressed by the Steelers linebackers and I mean you know I guess you should be because Patrick Queen is you know is Patrick Queen and he he's supposed to play really well anden Roberts we knew what he was coming in last year but you know pton Wilson has lived up to the hype I think of of what they drafted him to be and he's so as a guy that like you know what if one of those starters goes down you know you don't want him to go down and um uh Patrick Queen certainly you know you know is is the guy you want to be the star of this group but I think pton Wilson is the guy that you throw in there and you'd be pretty excited to throw in there he Peyton Wilson might be the might might end up being like the best backup linebacker we've seen for the Steelers in many years and and I think that this might be the best linebacking group that we've seen in many years and if Cole hul can eventually get healthy it might be the best linebacker linebacker inside linebacker group that we've seen for the Steelers Roberts Fain is going to see this Chris and he's GNA hunt you down and he's goingon to put you in the dirt all right just sleep one just sleep with one eye open if Robert Spain catches wind of what you just said on the North Shore Drive podcast Hey Hey listen I'll have pton Wilson defending me and there'll be about a height of difference there in doing so that that would be that would be a uh backers on backers drill that I would want to see Robert Spain versus pyton Wilson uh I wanted to Steelers secondary go over this with you here um because the front seven like you said kind of is solidified there what's the assortment of how you think they should take the secondary should it be five corners and five safties more like six corners four safeties you know we've seen Ryan Watts fit in at safety and I I think look pretty good for a rookie that transitioned to that spot in you know for his first NFL Camp uh but we know that corner is very important and and needing to have guys that can fill in both in the slot and the outside is certainly a thing there how how do you expect this to to play with the Steelers and who they keep in the secondary yeah I think versatility is going to be key it always is there's going to be difficult decisions to make on that back end there I mean like you said there always are because you've got to factor in yeah the how many hats can you wear somebody like Ryan watts is you know mainly a safety at this point but you know he's got the corner background cam Sutton can do it all we know that um but he's not going to be on the 53 coming out of Camp so that's going to open a spot for somebody else do you want someone who's more of a specialist or do you want somebody who's more of a you know inside outside guy like a Thomas Graham who's listed as a fourth Stringer here but you know we know he's playing more than that in practice uh even Anthony aett a veteran who um I think he's looked pretty good thus far in in training camp not sure if there's going to be a spot for him because you know guys like miles KBW are going to be around for special teams yep and I'm just you know really curious to see Chris is as far as the depth chart goes whether it's offense or defense I I think after this first preseason game the position where you might see the most shuffling depending on how guys play who stands out who might get toasted is in that secondary whether it's especially Corner because you've got some vets mixed in with some young guys you've got the outside corners you've got the nickel Corners um it's it's going to be really big uh Friday night against the Texans for everybody for sorting out the pecking order in that group I certainly think there's a lot to play out here we'll keep you out up to date with all of that as training camp continues today and tomorrow but then the first preseason game of the year is Friday we'll have our full team assembled at Acer Stadium covering that get all that coverage all week long at the Pittsburgh Post Gazette postgazette.com find us here on the Northshore Drive podcast every Monday Wednesday Friday on your favorite podcasting apps and on YouTube like this video If you enjoyed subscribe to this channel to get all those episodes and the daily content that comes out from all of our Sports writers here at the Pittsburgh Post Gazette we'll see you again Friday I'll have Jerry dlac on getting you ready for some preseason football here on the Northshore Drive podcast thank you for tuning in to another episode of the Northshore Drive podcast from the Pittsburgh Post cazette if you watch this video on YouTube please like the video and subscribe to our channel for all the sports coverage from the Post Gazette that we have to offer visit postgazette.com [Music]