Packers Trade for Steelers' Kaleb Johnson, RB Posts IG Photo amid New NFL Rumors

The Pittsburgh Steelers are trading running back Kaleb Johnson to the Green Bay Packers, according to ESPN's Jeremy Fowler.

The Steelers will receive a 2028 sixth-round draft pick, per Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.

Johnson, a third-round pick in the 2025 NFL draft, ran for 69 yards in 10 games as a rookie. He suited up for all three of Pittsburgh's preseason contests, going for 53 yards on 17 carries.

The 23-year-old signaled his move to Green Bay on social media shortly before Fowler broke the news:

A coaching change can cut both ways. Players on the fringes had the opportunity to enter the offseason with a clean slate for coach Mike McCarthy. However, those who had impressed his predecessor, Mike Tomlin, didn't have that same equity with the new staff coming in.

Trading Johnson after just one year doesn't represent a great return on the Steelers' investment, but it didn't look like there was a path for him in Pittsburgh:

This is part of a larger theme, one that helps explain why the organization hit a wall toward the end of the Tomlin era.

Green Bay, meanwhile, is making room for the former Iowa standout by cutting Pierre Strong Jr., according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's Tom Silverstein.

Johnson was the No. 39 overall player and third-best running back in Bleacher Report's final 2025 big board. As a junior, he led the Big Ten in rushing yards (1,537) and touchdown runs (21). He also averaged 5.5 yards per carry over three years with the Hawkeyes.

Pittsburgh surely wasn't the only team that saw potential in Johnson when he was coming out of college. Landing in Green Bay could help to kick-start his pro career.