If the deals were right, I might consider trading Brown AND Bell right now.
Stockpile 1st round picks. Get an impact defensive player, maybe even draft a true franchise QB, another piece for the offensive line.
I actually think we can score 25 a game without them. And I'm not sure it's worth the hassle for 3-5 more points a game. I think the defensive scheme and coaching suck regardless and is pretty much hit/miss each week.
Trade Bell, Brown... fire Tomlin and the staff. Draft young with a new coach and Ben can decide come next year what he wants to do. Hell, we might even be able to trade Roethlisberger too and get a mid-level veteran QB to hold us over in 2019 while the new coach grooms a new QB, staff and team in his image.
We might have to realistically aim for 2020 at this point. I don't think the group we have is going anywhere different than the broken record we've seen over the last 5 seasons. If it's really about championships, that's what you do. If you are going for 11-5 and limp into the playoffs on the shoulders of a banged up Roethlisberger and a defense you can't count on for **** vs. good coaching, then keep going the way we're going.