NFL Trade Odds: 5 Players the Pittsburgh Steelers Could Make a Play for

Could the Pittsburgh Steelers, long non-factors in free agency and the trade market, make a deal this offseason to acquire a player? They've cleared a lot of cap space, opened up roster spots and set themselves up to get younger and hopefully even better in 2012.

Here's a look at five players the Steelers could look into acquiring in a trade.

Stephen Hill, WR, Georgia Tech

No, before you ask, I'm not proposing a draft day trade like the one that swapped Philip Rivers and Eli Manning. That just doesn't happen very often no matter who the teams are.

Pat Kirwan has this interesting scenario playing out in his latest mock draft for CBS.

I like it in many ways. Mike Wallace is going to be expensive to sign long term. The tender price on him (just over $2 million) is low enough to believe others will get involved. Kirwan is banking on the New England Patriots, but in reality anyone at the end of the first round could buy on Wallace and get the same kind of player as any of the rookie receivers but without the risk that he couldn't handle the league.

Hill is a prospect that reminds Kirwan a lot of Wallace. I have to agree. He's fast and has great hands. He didn't come from a big program like USC or Ohio State, but he is a great prospect from a top school.

Most important, he's not as expensive. The Steelers do have to consider Antonio Brown's free agency, which won't be staved off forever. He might be more expensive than Wallace considering he's shown more tools.

Petyon Hillis, RB, Cleveland Browns

This is an intriguing thought, although it's probably more pipe dream than anything.

Think of it this way. The Steelers have one major weakness and have had it since 2005 ended in Detroit. They cannot punch the ball across the goal line regularly and convincingly. Rashard Mendenhall bounces backward. None of the other backs have shown a talent for it either.

Hillis is a big, bruising back. He's got decent wheels too, but his primary function would be to get those tough third-and-short conversions and also those goal-line blasts up the middle.

I don't think Hillis is a feature back. His great season a couple years ago aside, the guy just hasn't shown he can carry an NFL offense on his shoulders.

In Pittsburgh, he could assume the role Jerome Bettis had in his old age: pounding the ball for short, important gains. Bettis was beloved for just that ability. It's time Pittsburgh found someone else who can do that same thing.

Dontari Poe, NT, Memphis

It's hard to believe a few weeks ago we were thinking of Poe as a guy who could fall to Pittsburgh at 24th overall. Now he's being mocked in the top 15-20 picks.

Here's another scenario where you trade a player for the future. It also involves Mike Wallace. Say you deal him to any team with a 20 to 32 selection in the first round. You now have two first-round picks.

What if the Steelers do that and, instead of taking two players in the round (and paying them with their precious little cap money), package them in a bid to move up and take Poe.

Now this takes guts, patience and negotiating. First, you have to deal Wallace with no guarantee that you will get Poe. The Wallace departure isn't a true "trade" since it's a free-agent move, but you can call it trading a player for someone else because the compensation equals another player in the end.

If you make that deal, then you have to figure out just how high you can trade in the round and do so. There's still no guarantee you can get Poe, but he's one of many mid-round prospects that would make Pittsburgh that much better.

Charlie Whitehurst, QB, Seattle Seahawks

I know. You're all shaking your heads. Why do we trade for a guy who can't start for Seattle?

The Steelers do it because, in case you missed it, Ben Roethlisberger is all by his lonesome on the quarterback depth chart. It's him and a lot of empty lockers.

Whitehurst has experience. He's young. He isn't as bad as people would think. He isn't an NFL starter, but he is a guy who can step in and give you some serviceable outings while you're waiting for a starter to get healthy.

Ben Roethlisberger hasn't played a full season in a while (2007). Having a good backup is essential. The team may opt to re-sign or draft someone, but neither of their backups (Byron Leftwich and Charlie Batch) inspire confidence because of injuries and age.

Ben Tate, RB, Houston Texans

I saved this for last because this is the trade I'd like to see most.

Tate is a great young back with a ton of upside who needs to find a team of his own and get out of Arian Foster's shadow. That alone should make him desirable to Pittsburgh, a team that has some questions in the backfield.

The problem is going to be the price. The Texans know Tate's value to another team. They won't let him go cheap because he's not really costing them a ton of money. They can keep him and be just as well off as if they deal him.

I'd be shocked if he went for less than a second-round pick and another late-rounder thrown in for some spice.

The Steelers don't usually make that kind of deal, but if they want a guy with some proven success, they could opt to deal a pick they would have used on a running back in the draft.

Like I said, it isn't likely. But it is enticing.