Steelers Trade TJ Watt And George Pickens For Caleb Williams In 2024 Is The Latest Colosssal Gaffe By Smug Colin Cowherd

Pittsburgh Steelers fans are a different breed. Many NFL fans have embraced the warm glow of the offensive explosion the NFL has foisted upon them. Steelers fans would much rather hear Renegade blasting in Acrisure Stadium and watch TJ Watt and Alex Highsmith race each other to hit the quarterback. Smashmouth football is what the fans of the black and gold want and the Rooney Family has delivered it for decades.

On Friday afternoon, social media started to buzz when the buffoon, formally known as Colin Cowherd, unleashed his daily gaffe. It was jaw-dropping. The Fox Sports host made his latest observation of how the Steelers should approach the 2024 offseason.  

The idea that the Steelers, who have six Lombardi Trophies and seven losing seasons since they called Terry Bradshaw’s name as the first overall pick in 1970, would consider this as laughable. Cowherd fancies himself as the smartest guy in the room with edgy takes. He has wandered off base in the past, but this might be a new low.

On its face, Cowherd suggesting the Steelers trade the former 2021 AP Defensive Player of the Year in his prime and the most insanely talented wide receiver in the NFL, along with multiple first-round draft picks, is simply ridiculous. It contradicts Cowherd's previous position that Mike Tomlin is a defensive coach who can't be trusted with Kenny Pickett's development. However, he would be fine with Caleb Williams's career in Matt Canada and Tomlin's hands.  

The last player for which the Steelers traded a first-round pick was Minkah Fitzpatrick, a young, proven NFL player. Fitzpatrick has been named First Team All-Pro in three of his four seasons wearing the black and gold. Omar Khan and Art Rooney II would not trade three first-round draft picks if you could genetically engineer the love child of Western PA legends Dan Marino and Joe Montana. 

Quarterback is important in the NFL. Williams, as talented as he may be, is not going to surpass Patrick Mahomes, who is just entering his prime for the foreseeable future. By the time he is ready to ascend into being a top-five quarterback, it is doubtful Rooney II would be interested in paying him the going rate of what a quarterback might be making five years from now. 

The argument that a great quarterback covers your warts works if you root for most NFL teams. It doesn't fly in Pittsburgh. The Steelers had Ben Roethlisberger and, after losing in Super Bowl XLVI to the Green Bay Packers, fans watched thinner and thinner rosters become irrelevant in the playoffs. Successful franchises don't gut the team and hope they get the quarterback right. 

Mahomes is paired with arguably the best offensive mind in the NFL, Andy Reid. In case you have yet to notice, and judging by this take, you haven't, Mr. Cowherd. The last seven Super Bowls have seen Mahomes or Tom Brady win five times. An aging Matthew Stafford validated Sean McVay's career by beating the Cincinnati Bengals, who lost their third Super Bowl in three tries. A backup named Nick Foles won the other for the Philadelphia Eagles when the "Philly Special" did not involve touching your quarterback's posterior. 

Cowherd doesn't have much of a future as an NFL GM. After gutting the identity of your football team and trading away the future, there is one problem. Pickett would still be on the roster. Mr. Wizard would be stuck with two first-round quarterbacks on the roster. What if you make the trade and Tomlin goes, well, Tomlin and Pickett find a way to make a deep run in the playoffs? What exactly would the plan be at that point? 

Williams is a fine quarterback prospect, but so was Andrew Luck. How many Super Bowl trophies did the Indianapolis Colts win with Luck? The trade that the Cowherd is proposing is similar to the Deshaun Watson fiasco that has produced one last-place finish in the AFC North. The talk shows dubious theoretical franchise management would be more at home in Cleveland than in Pittsburgh. 

Steelers Stable With Kenny Pickett At Quarterback, According To Colin Cowherd

There is a reason Cowherd got the national job. He unleashes hot takes for a living. He was touting Pickett's bona fide play a month ago and calling him a franchise quarterback. A month later, he has cut bait. Cowherd hates defense and defensive coaches, so he has no appreciation for how good TJ Watt is at his job and how bizarre the proposed offer would be.  

After the 23-18 victory against the Las Vegas Raiders, Ron Cook pointed out a key statistic in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. The Steelers are 61-27-2 in the games Watt plays, 1-10 when he does not. Watt is the most valuable non-quarterback in the NFL. 

If Cowherd wanted to make waves, he would suggest that if Pittsburgh returns to the playoffs, Watt should get serious MVP consideration. That would be a defensible and logical take, so bet the mortgage payment that it won't spill out of the clown car he passes off as a talk show. 

What do you think, Steeler Nation? Has Cowherd's last brain cell gone bye-bye? Please comment below, or on my Twitter/X: @thebubbasq.

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