Kaleb Johnson Traded to Packers-One year after the Pittsburgh Steelers used a third-round draft pick on Kaleb Johnson, the former Iowa standout is already getting a fresh start.
The Steelers are trading running back Kaleb Johnson to the Green Bay Packers as both teams finalize their rosters ahead of the 2026 NFL season.
Johnson appeared to confirm the move himself Sunday, August 30, with a brief message thanking Pittsburgh before turning his attention toward his new team.
“Appreciate it Steelers nation. Let’s do it Packers,” Johnson wrote.
The trade ends a surprisingly short Pittsburgh tenure for a player who arrived in the NFL with considerable expectations following a dominant final season at Iowa.
Johnson, 23, was selected with the 83rd overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.
Just 16 months later, he’s heading to Green Bay.
Pittsburgh’s Backfield Changed Around Him
Johnson entered his second NFL offseason needing to establish a clearer role.
Instead, the competition became more difficult.
Jaylen Warren remained an important part of Pittsburgh’s backfield, while the Steelers added Rico Dowdle and Travis Homer during an offseason that significantly reshaped the position.
Johnson subsequently found himself fighting for snaps rather than moving toward a larger Year 2 role.
His preseason didn’t change that trajectory.
Across three exhibition games, Johnson recorded 17 carries for 53 yards, averaging a little more than three yards per attempt.
Other backs began receiving opportunities ahead of him.
By final roster cutdown weekend, the question was no longer whether Johnson could earn a bigger offensive role.
It became whether Pittsburgh would keep him at all.
The Steelers found another solution.
Rather than simply releasing a player they had invested a top-100 draft pick in only a year earlier, they found a trade partner.
That partner was Green Bay.
Why the Packers Wanted Kaleb Johnson
Green Bay’s interest makes more sense when looking at its current running back room.
The Packers already have veteran starter Josh Jacobs, along with MarShawn Lloyd and Chris Brooks.
But adding another young runner gives head coach Matt LaFleur additional depth entering the regular season.
Johnson also arrives with something his NFL statistics don’t immediately reveal.
His college résumé was exceptional.
During his final season at Iowa, Johnson rushed for 1,537 yards on 240 carries, averaging 6.4 yards per attempt.
He scored 21 rushing touchdowns and added another two touchdowns as a receiver, giving him 23 total scores.
Johnson finished the season as one of the Big Ten’s most productive offensive players.
His 1,537 rushing yards ranked third in Iowa single-season history, while his 21 rushing touchdowns and 23 total touchdowns established school records.
That player hasn’t emerged in the NFL yet.
Green Bay is essentially betting that he still might.
His Rookie Season Never Really Got Started
Johnson’s transition from Iowa star to Steelers contributor was difficult.
He appeared in 10 games during the 2025 season but never started.
His opportunities were limited to 28 rushing attempts, which produced 69 yards.
That’s an average of only 2.5 yards per carry.
He added one reception for nine yards.
Johnson also received opportunities as a kickoff returner, recording eight returns for 190 yards, but special teams did not ultimately establish a permanent role for him.
By the end of his rookie year, Johnson had played only 51 offensive snaps.
For a third-round selection coming off a 1,500-yard college season, that was far less involvement than Pittsburgh would have envisioned on draft night.
The expectation entering 2026 was that a second season could provide an opportunity to reset.
Instead, a changing Steelers roster pushed him even further down the depth chart.
The Steelers Made a Rarely Seen Decision
Trading Johnson this quickly is notable because NFL teams generally give top-100 draft selections more time to develop.
Johnson had only completed one professional season.
Pittsburgh nevertheless decided that its roster was better served by moving on.
He becomes the Steelers’ first top-100 draft pick in years to fail to make it into his second season with the team.
That says as much about Pittsburgh’s changing plans as it does about Johnson.
The Steelers have undergone significant changes since Johnson was drafted.
A player selected to fit one offensive vision can suddenly find himself evaluated differently when personnel and coaching philosophies change.
Johnson entered camp needing to demonstrate that he belonged in the new version of Pittsburgh’s offense.
By late August, the answer became clear.
His future would have to be somewhere else.
Green Bay Could Be a Better Fit
A trade after one season isn’t necessarily a verdict on Johnson’s NFL career.
At 23, he remains younger than many players entering their first professional season.
He’s also still under the rookie contract he signed after being drafted in 2025, giving Green Bay time to evaluate whether the production he showed at Iowa can translate to the NFL.
Johnson’s college running style was built around patience, vision and finding lanes before accelerating through them.
At 6-foot-1 and roughly 224 pounds, he also gives Green Bay another bigger-bodied option.
The Packers don’t necessarily need Johnson to become their starting running back immediately.
They need him to provide depth, compete for a role and potentially develop into something Pittsburgh never managed to unlock.
Sometimes a different blocking scheme, coaching staff and depth chart can change a young player’s trajectory.
Green Bay will find out whether that applies here.
What Did the Packers Give Pittsburgh for Kaleb Johnson?
One important part of the trade remained unclear when news of the deal broke Sunday.
The compensation Pittsburgh will receive from Green Bay had not yet been reliably reported.
The trade itself has been confirmed by multiple reports, but the return to the Steelers was not immediately disclosed.
That detail could emerge once the transaction is formally processed or additional information becomes available.
What is already clear is that Pittsburgh preferred receiving something in return rather than risking losing Johnson for nothing during final roster cuts.
The timing is important.
NFL teams are reducing their rosters to the initial 53 players for the regular season, creating a flurry of trades and releases across the league.
Johnson became one of the more notable names moved before that process was completed.
Kaleb Johnson Gets a Second Chance Earlier Than Expected
There was considerable excitement surrounding Johnson when Pittsburgh drafted him.
His final college season suggested the Steelers were acquiring a powerful, productive runner who could eventually become an important part of their offense.
That never happened.
Twenty-eight carries and 69 rushing yards later, Pittsburgh has decided not to wait any longer.
But Johnson’s story isn’t ending.
In some ways, it’s restarting unusually early.
Green Bay is acquiring a 23-year-old running back only one year removed from being a third-round NFL draft pick and two years removed from one of the best rushing seasons in Iowa football history.
The Packers don’t need his Pittsburgh numbers to suddenly disappear.
They simply need the player behind those numbers to develop.
For Johnson, that opportunity begins with a new uniform.
His message Sunday made clear that he understands that.
Pittsburgh is behind him.
Now it’s Green Bay.
Disclaimer
This article is based on publicly available reports concerning the trade of Kaleb Johnson from the Pittsburgh Steelers to the Green Bay Packers on August 30, 2026. The trade compensation had not been reliably disclosed at the time of publication. NFL transactions and roster details may be updated as moves are formally processed and additional information is announced.