Oltmanns: Holmes trade serves as warning for rest of Steelers

On Sunday night, when I first saw the Steelers had traded Santonio Holmes to the Jets for a… On Sunday night, when I first saw the Steelers had traded Santonio Holmes to the Jets for a fifth-round pick, I thought it was a big mistake. Why would you ever trade a former Super Bowl MVP for a late-round pick? But the trade seems to make a lot of sense the more I think about it.

The Steelers have long been known as a classy organization. They’re run by the Rooneys, one of the best ownership groups in football. They have always held their players to the highest standards.

But during the last few years, other Steelers players such as Ben Roethlisberger, James Harrison and Jeff Reed have all had off-the-field issues , and it was time that the team took a stand against such actions.

Holmes, who is doing his best to follow in Ricky Williams’ footsteps, is suspended for the first four games of next season for violating the league drug policy. And he is one more failed drug test away from being suspended for a whole season. Whether through his controversial Twitter updates, getting pulled over with marijuana in his car or allegedly smashing a bottle of alcohol over a woman’s head, he was doing more harm than good for the franchise — a red flag for any general manager.

The Steelers said that they were prepared to simply cut him if they couldn’t find a suitor, which not only sent a message to Holmes that it was time for him to go, but made it clear to Roethlisberger that one more of his highly publicized slip-ups will not be tolerated.

Not only was unloading Holmes good for the team’s image, but if there’s any position the Steelers could spare to lose someone, it’s at receiver.

They already have one of the most consistent receivers in the league with Hines Ward, an emerging star in Mike Wallace and just-signed veterans Antwaan Randle El and Arnaz Battle to form what appears to be a decent receiving corps, even without Holmes.

This was the perfect time to get rid of Holmes too, as he is entering the last season of his five-year rookie contract and is sure to command a high asking price in free agency in the next offseason. With pressing needs in other areas, such as the offensive and defensive lines as well as in the secondary, the Steelers might have had to let him go after this year anyway, so why not get a draft pick out of it now?

While Steelers fans should be thankful for everything Holmes did for the franchise (especially in the playoffs), they should trust the judgment of the ownership team. If you don’t think they know what they’re doing, look no further than the last troubled receiver that left the team to play in New York.

Right now he’s known as inmate 09-R-3260. But you probably know him better as Plaxico Burress.

And what have teams who are known to tolerate players with off-the-field problems like the Bengals and Cowboys won in the past decade? Absolutely nothing.

The Steelers are a proud franchise that has won six Super Bowls — two in this past decade — while running an organization the right way, and it doesn’t look like that’s going to stop anytime soon.