Ever watch the movie, Invincible? 

If you have, you probably remember the moment when Greg Kinnear, as Eagles head coach Dick Vermeil, tells Mark Wahlberg, as Vince Papale, that he should hang on to his playbook for a few more months. Vince makes sure he tells Tommy first. Tommy takes Vince to their favorite watering hole (the place Vince was bartending at when his buddies encouraged him to go to the Eagles’ open tryout down at Veterans Stadium). Everyone is so happy for Vince. His dad hugs him and says, “Steve Van Buren’s got nothing on you.” Vince’s unemployed and bitter friend, Johnny, buys him a pitcher of beer. Vince makes eyes with Janet, his future wife. After the celebration, Vince thanks Max, his old boss, and the owner of Max’s bar. He tells Maxie, who loaned him some money right before he reported to Eagles training camp, that he will pay him back with his first game check.

Now, imagine if Vermeil then calls Vince, a wide receiver and special teams ace, and informs him that he has to cut him after all. A slightly better receiver turned up on the waiver wire, and the Eagles need to upgrade that position. I mean, a 30-year-old bartender? You can’t compete with the Cowboys, Vikings and Rams with a 30-year-old receiver who didn’t even play college football. Vince can’t pay Maxie back, at least not right away. Instead, he’ll have to return to bartending at Max’s Bar.

It certainly wouldn’t have been as entertaining a story. In fact, Disney probably wouldn’t have made a movie about it.

If Steelers fans had their way, that type of dream would get squashed every summer after cutdown day. Why? Because cutdown day has slowly morphed into a quasi-free-agent frenzy; fans and the media spend hours and days speculating about a particular player who was just cut and who may be an upgrade at a position of need.

This year, it was the receiver position. As you know, the Steelers failed to land Brandon Aiyuk in a trade. They also (as of this writing) have failed to trade for another receiver who may be able to take the pressure off of George Pickens. Receiver has been a concern since Pittsburgh traded Diontae Johnson to Carolina for cornerback Donte Jackson in March.

Will the Steelers eventually trade for a receiver? Doesn’t look like it. Will they pick someone up from the waiver wire? Maybe, but even if they do, will it be an upgrade over what they already have? Maybe, but will it be a big enough upgrade to help them contend in a very competitive AFC? Doesn’t look like it.

Have you seen the Steelers’ final (or current) 53-man roster? It doesn’t exactly scream contender. I don’t even think the roster is strong enough to whisper that word. It’s clearly not one waiver wire pickup away from being a juggernaut.

Why, though? Because it is what it is.

The Steelers had their time in the 2000s, and they’re still dealing with the fallout from that. Would it have helped if they bottomed out once or twice over the past 14 years? Yes, but how many were rooting for those transitional Steelers teams of the early-2010s to collapse down the stretch? Not many. Instead, we were hoping they’d just barely get into the postseason. Sometimes, they did. Sometimes, they did not (damn you, Ryan Succop). The same with those mid-to-late-2010s teams led by the Killer B’s offense. Were they just supposed to tank it with Ben Roethlisberger playing the best quarterback of his career? No, they built the entire offense around him. Unfortunately, they drafted too low every year to improve that gosh darn defense. But they made it just good enough to not be horrible. The Steelers could still contend with that defense (at least that was the perception because of their Cadillac offense).

The Steelers have spent the past decade-plus doing what their fans wanted them to do after cutdown day: Add just enough credible players to hang on.

That’s what they did when they traded for Minkah Fitzpatrick shortly after losing Roethlisberger to an elbow injury early in the 2019 campaign. Most teams may have just said, “Screw it” and tanked for Tua (or Justin Herbert). Instead, Fitzpatrick came on board and made the Steelers’ defense just elite enough to keep the team in the playoff race until the very end.

That’s why they brought Roethlisberger back for 2021; he was the Steelers’ best chance to hang on for one more season. It’s why they signed Mitch Trubisky at the onset of the 2022 free-agent frenzy. It’s why they handed Trubisky the keys to the offense in Week 1 against Cincinnati, instead of giving them to their newest first-round pick, Kenny Pickett.

It’s why they jumped at the chance to sign Russell Wilson at a bargain price in March. Pittsburgh figured Pickett wasn’t the answer, but Wilson might be its best chance to hang on for one more year.

You don’t sign a Patrick Peterson if you’re not hellbent on hanging on. You don’t re-sign Cam Sutton if you’re not desperate to hang on.

The Steelers keep trying to hang on for one more year, and that’s why they have the roster that they do.

Their roster isn’t horrible, but it’s not good enough that someone from the waiver wire will turn it into something great.

Joe Haden isn’t walking through that door, and even if he does, he would be a horrible receiver.