The Pittsburgh Steelers will soon gear up to host the New York Giants on Monday Night Football. Meanwhile, Russell Wilson is coming off his debut performance with his new team after an encouraging performance against the Jets in Week 7.
All the while, there has been speculation as to whether this team could pull the trigger on a trade for a wide receiver. The latest Steelers news involves speculation over Justin Fields’ future with the team, a linebacker returning to practice, and a wide receiver joining the practice squad.
Insider speculates Steelers will lose Justin Fields in 2025
During his recent Steelers chat, Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette shared his thoughts on whether he believes Justin Fields will remain with the team in 2025. The Steelers’ insider thinks ‘Fields might have played himself into a job with another team in 2025 with the way he played the first six games’.
Many fans would tend to agree. Before being demoted to the bench with Wilson returning, Fields led Pittsburgh to a 4-2 record while chipping in 10 total touchdowns and just one interception. If Wilson keeps the job from here on out and returns next season, there’s little incentive for Fields to stay in the Steel City.
Steelers open practice window for LB Tyler Matakevich
The Pittsburgh Steelers should be getting back one player who landed on IR early in the season. The team opened the 21-day practice window for veteran linebacker Tyler Matakevich. He now has less than three weeks to be activated by the team. If he’s unable to return during this window, he will be out for the season.
LB Tyler Matakevich returned to practice today but remains on the Reserve/Injured List.https://t.co/bVO1CBrBNL
— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) October 24, 2024
Matakevich is a special teams ace the Steelers rely on. His presence will offer depth at the linebacker position in the event of an injury.
Along with Matakevich’s expected to return soon, there is speculation that LB Cole Holcomb could return to the field sometime after the Week 9 bye. The Steelers have not opened the 21-day practice window for Holcomb yet.
Steelers’ trade for WR Cooper Kupp unlikely after Rams win
Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk recently speculated that the Steelers are in no rush to land Cooper Kupp via trade, noting ‘they like to lurk’ and that they will ‘swoop in and get a bargain’.
Unfortunately, the possibility of a trade likely went out the window after the Rams upset the Vikings on Thursday Night Football in Week 8. Instead of falling to 2-5 and entering ‘sell’ mode, Los Angeles is 3-4 and one game out of the division lead in the AFC West. It’s highly unlikely they are willing to trade away Kupp now that they are back in the playoff race.
Steelers sign WR Andy Isabella to practice squad
The Pittsburgh Steelers landed a wide receiver before Week 8, but it wasn’t the WR every fan was hoping for. Brooke Pryor of ESPN first announced the Steelers have signed Andy Isabella to their practice squad.
Isabella, a former second-round pick by the Arizona Cardinals in 2019, never lived up to lofty expectations. This will be Isabella’s fourth NFL team after playing with the Cardinals, Ravens, and Bills. Isabella recorded just five receptions over the past four seasons and will likely only be called up to the active roster in an emergency situation.
