Head coach Mike Tomlin got his first look at the team's two newest acquisitions at practice on Wednesday, a day after the Steelers traded for wide receiver Mike Williams and outside linebacker Preston Smith at the NFL's deadline on Tuesday.
What their roles will be or if they'll have one with the Steelers (6-2) when they travel to Washington to take on the 7-2 Commanders remains to be seen. But the two trades weren't made with this week's game in mind.
"This weekend, Sunday is not the end game," Tomlin said Wednesday at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex. "We acquired these guys to be with us for the remainder of this journey. And so that's just my general mindset."
Still, Tomlin was happy to add a pair of veteran players to the roster as the Steelers get ready for their stretch run.
"I think we're going to determine that, and there's some variables in that equation," Tomlin said of how the two new players will be used moving forward. "First and foremost, what's their ability to learn? You know, we got an above-the-line assignment component to our play. And then, we're getting a sense of what they're physically capable of. And so we got a few days to kind of sort through some of those things."
The Steelers acquired Williams, 30, from the Jets on Tuesday to add to their wide receiver room.
The veteran receiver has 321 career catches for 4,972 yards and 31 touchdowns in eight NFL seasons, though he's coming off an ACL injury in 2023 that ended his season after just three games.
He played in all nine games for the Jets this season, catching 12 passes for 166 yards, but became expendable when New York acquired Davante Adams three weeks ago.
Smith's acquisition also came Tuesday via a trade with the Packers.
The 10-year veteran outside linebacker has 68.5 career sacks, including 2.5 this season, though he was playing defensive end in Green Bay's new 4-3 defensive scheme, starting all nine games for the Packers.
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Both acquisitions improve the Steelers' depth at two key positions, and that's what Tomlin said led to the deals.
"We're just stacking our chips. This is an arms race. It's highly competitive," Tomlin said. "As the road gets narrow, we had better have capable people and obviously, 68-and-a-half career sacks, man, he's capable."
