Pittsburgh is Reportedly Not Shopping JuJu Smith-Schuster So Steelers Fans Can Put Away the Pitchforks

The Pittsburgh Steelers are in a strange space right now. Even if there was no coronavirus shutdown throwing any and all live sports in 2020 into doubt, they still find themselves with an aging quarterback coming off a notable injury in Ben Roethlisberger, and two top skill players in JuJu Smith-Schuster and James Conner now in their contract years. That's not an incredibly comfortable place to be, and in the case of Smith-Schuster, rumors have bubbled up of late that the front office might make him available in a trade, with some modest buzz linking him to the San Francisco 49ers.

Well, you can step back from that ledge, my friend. According to NFL.com insider Judy Battista, the receiver-needy 49ers are not engaged in any talks about JuJu, who is not considered available.

Take a walk. Read a book. Better yourself however you choose. Your No. 1 wide receiver isn't going anywhere. Not yet, anyway.

Depending on how the Steelers behave in the upcoming NFL Draft, the 2020 trade deadline and the following offseason could be the starting gun for an arduous rebuild in search of better things in the eventual post-Big Ben era. In other words, how the team performs in the first phase of the coming season will go a long way in portending JuJu's future.

If things are going well, Steeler fans can expect contract extension talks to ramp up in due time. If the seas are rough, those trade rumblings will generate increasingly seismic activity.

But for now, there's no need to freak out, Steel City.

For now.