NFL Trade: Does the Santonio Holmes Deal Mean Ben Roethlisberger Is Trade Bait?

The Pittsburgh Steelers have been in the news a lot lately, and not for much of anything good.

Wide receiver Santonio Holmes and quarterback Ben Roethlisberger both have had legal troubles off the field this offseason, and now Holmes is a New York Jet.

Holmes is facing a lawsuit in Florida from a woman who claims he threw a glass at her, cutting her above the eye, in an Orlando nightclub. The case is under investigation and Holmes has denied any wrongdoing.

Holmes, who has 235 career catches for 3,835 yards and 20 touchdowns, was traded for a fifth-round pick, which is something Steelers fans need to raise their eyebrows at.

You'd think the guy who caught the winning touchdown pass in the Steelers' last Super Bowl would go for a bit more than a fifth-round pick.

However, in 2008, Holmes was arrested for possession of marijuana, and he was involved in a domestic violence incident in 2006—the misdemeanor charges were dismissed.

So what does this mean for Roethlisberger who is facing one civil lawsuit for allegations of sexual misconduct while waiting to here his fate on another set of sexual misconduct charges?

The Rooney family runs a tight ship in Pittsburgh and has a history of jettisoning troublemakers, anyone remember Plaxico Burress?

Roethlisberger is the quarterback, which changes everything, though.

But with the amount of grief he has been causing, the Rooney family has to be weighing their options here.

While it is doubtful the Steelers are ready to dump Roethlisberger at this point, Ben might want to keep looking over his shoulder because Holmes was traded for a fifth-round pick.

The message there is clear—stay out of trouble.

UPDATE 2:30 P.M.: Roethlisberger will not be charged, which is a good thing since something felt off about this from day one. Still, the message from the Holmes trade is "stay out of trouble, or else we'll trade you for two cases of Faygo and a pack of Ritz Crackers."