Pittsburgh traded center Sean Mahan to Tampa Bay on September…
Pittsburgh traded center Sean Mahan to Tampa Bay on September 2, 2008 for the Buccaneers' 2009 seventh-round pick, No. 226. Tampa Bay used Mahan as interior-line depth for 21 regular-season games and four starts across 2008 and 2009. Pittsburgh used No. 226 on center A.Q. Shipley, but Shipley was waived before the 2009 regular season and never appeared in a regular-season game for the Steelers.
Pittsburgh Steelers Received
- pick 2009 seventh-round pick (#226- A.Q. Shipley )
Tampa Bay Buccaneers Received
- player Sean Mahan
Trade Analysis
The compensation can be resolved beyond the legacy row's generic draft-pick label. Pittsburgh announced on September 2, 2008 that it had traded Sean Mahan to Tampa Bay for an undisclosed 2009 draft choice. Buccaneers reporting later specified that the price was Tampa Bay's seventh-round pick, and the 2009 draft-trade ledger identifies the selection as No. 226. Pittsburgh used that choice on Penn State center A.Q. Shipley. The transaction should therefore be recorded as Mahan for the 2009 seventh-round selection at No. 226, not an impossible 2008 pick exchanged after the 2008 draft had already taken place.
Tampa Bay received immediate roster service. Pro Football Reference credits Mahan with 15 games and no starts for the Buccaneers in 2008, followed by six games and four starts in 2009. Tampa Bay released him on September 2, 2009, exactly one year after reacquiring him. That leaves the Bucs with 21 regular-season appearances and four starts from the trade. The contribution was modest, but it was real interior-line depth at a position the club specifically wanted to reinforce when the deal was made.
Pittsburgh's return did not create regular-season value for the Steelers. Shipley was the No. 226 selection in the 2009 draft and later built a long NFL career, eventually appearing in 110 games with 72 starts. None of that regular-season production came for Pittsburgh. The Steelers waived Shipley during final cuts on September 5, 2009, before he played a regular-season game for the club. His later success with Indianapolis, Baltimore, Arizona and Tampa Bay is useful context for the player's ability, but it should not be assigned to Pittsburgh's side of this transaction.
Tampa Bay therefore gets the better hindsight grade despite Mahan being only a depth piece. A B- reflects 21 games and four starts for the cost of a seventh-round selection. Pittsburgh receives a C- because the acquired pick was legitimate draft capital but ultimately produced no Steelers regular-season service. The gap remains moderate rather than extreme because seventh-round picks are low-cost assets and Mahan's second Buccaneers stint lasted only one year.