My Worthless 2 Cents After The First Week of Free Agency
The title “My Worthless 2 Cents” that I came up with isn’t one I feel I can take full credit for, but is a story in itself, so here it is. I was in the 8th grade at the time, and found myself tagging along with my older sister (a senior in high school), as she was a part of the high school theatre group who would work as ushers for local community theatre productions. Working as an usher at a production of “Harvey”, the dad for one of my baseball friends came up to me at intermission and handed me two pennies and asked me to go back to the dressing area and find the lead actor in the play. I was to give him the pennies and tell him “this is from the guy with the big nostrils, giving you his two cents worth”. I thought this was funny so I agreed to do it, especially since I knew the two were friends. I go to the dressing room and deliver the message and the “gift”. The response I was given was even better. The actor told me to return the pennies and I was to “tell the guy with the big nostrils to take his worthless 2 cents and shove them right up his big nostrils”. So that’s it. This is my 2 cents after sitting on the latest Steelers game for a bit. This is quite the opposite of my Knee Jerk Reaction article, so I get to bring everything full circle. You might tell me to take my worthless two cents and shove them up my nostrils, and that’s okay, because we are friends and I don’t look at it as personal.
I am going to break things down into three categories: One, something I feel stronger about. Two, something I have softened on a bit. Three, something that didn’t really change.
SOMETHING I FEEL STRONGER ABOUT
Big name free agents. Either the Steelers do not pursue them, or the Steelers are shunned by them. I’m not sure which of these two is the true statement, but one of them has to be. I was a bit surprised that we went through the first week of free agency and the Steelers did not add a piece along the defensive line, outside of Daniel Ekuale who was signed Sunday evening. I’m also shocked that we still have no idea who the quarterback might be for the Steelers to start next season. I could probably tolerate the lack of signing big name free agents if the Steelers were actually signing more free agents, but it felt like we went through a week where they signed a couple mid-tier players from outside the organization, re-signed a couple of lower level guys from within the organization, and were on the outside looking in as the rest of the league bolstered their teams. If the Steelers were in salary cap purgatory I could understand this move, but the Steelers had more money to spend this offseason than I’ve seen them have in a very long time.
SOMETHING I’VE SOFTENED ON
Free agent quarterbacks. To be specific, I have softened on signing big name free agent quarterbacks this offseason. Mainly because I don’t feel that the return on investment is there. Why pay someone like Aaron Rodgers or Russell Wilson upwards of 30 million a year to get nine or 10 wins, when someone who’s being paid much less in Mason Rudolph is potentially good for seven or eight wins? At this point, I would save the money that could have been spent on the quarterbacks and work on a few more free agents, and potentially re-doing a deal like T.J. Watt.
SOMETHING THAT HASN’T CHANGED
The status quo. My last article stated something I felt stronger about was that the status quo had to change. Very little has changed in terms of the Steelers and how they do business. There were thoughts that there might be some coaching changes, but other than coaches whose contracts expired and were not renewed, there were no changes. Then the Steelers went out on a limb and made the big trade for DK Metcalf, and I felt the status quo might be changing, but after this first week of free agency, with a very little to show and still not certain who the quarterback might be, I can say that the Steelers have not changed their status quo of the offseason.
There you have it. My worthless 2 cents. Maybe you liked it, maybe you didn’t. Maybe you want to tell me to shove my worthless two cents up my big nostrils. Maybe you have your own worthless 2 cents you would like to share. If so please feel free to share it in the comments below, I might look at it and tell you to shove it up your big nostrils…but that’s okay, because we are still friends.
Cutting Larry O and replacing him with this free agent DL doesn’t seem like much of an improvement, if any.
Larry O was going to be missing the first 3rd of the season anyway. Smart move not to pay him as almost half his salary was a roster bonus and not affected by pay loss due to suspension.
I really think the QB fumble put the FA dalliance on the back burner. It’s hard to go shopping when you don’t know how much money you have.
I hope they don’t overreact and go sign a handful of 3rd tier players just because they have money. I wouldn’t hate the Steelers carrying an abnormally large amount of cash into the season, and maybe be players at the trade deadline, or hell just roll it over.
The Steelers cheap ass attitude towards coaches is very frustrating. Especially when I see the Ravens bring in Dean Peas mid season to help “advise” their first year coordinator who’s D was bad early in the season. This is 2025, you can’t staff your team with the 2005 budget.
Yes, the QB situation needed to be handled first to know what you have for money. At this point what I hope the Steelers do in Free Agency from here is to give one year deals…..that way it is off the books again next off season.
Something I feel stronger about, there simply aren’t many great QBs in today’s NFL. I read somewhere this morning that there are really on 5 true franchise QBs in the league right now; Joe Burrow, Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, Jalen Hurts and Lamar Jackson. Yeah, there are some other guys who are ok, Dak Prescott, Tua and guys like that but they aren’t “franchise”. There are some other guys who might become franchises like Jayden Daniels but they aren’t there yet. There are guys who used to be, Aaron Rogers and Kirk Cousins come to mind. 32 teams and only 5 sure-fire elite QBs. It simply reinforces that, for as much as the Steelers have failed getting Ben Roethlisberger replaced, they are no different than the majority of teams that can’t find a QB.
The only place to find a great QB is to draft one. More and more I believe that the Steelers should do just that this year, poor QB class or not. Roll the dice. It’s the only way.
Id replace Hurts with Herbert, but the idea stands.
I will not disagree……other than I think it may be a stretch to call Jalen Hurst a franchise QB. He is a good QB. He can win a SB if he has a lot of team around him on both sides of the ball.
This leads me to another point, which is if teams pay non-franchise QB’s like they are franchise QB’s they never end up looking like a franchise QB. Jalen Hurts looked like a franchise QB this year with the help of the other quys around him. They helped him look like a franchise QB, his play did not get him there on it’s own. If teams can spend a little less on good QB play and upgrade around them, there is still a very good chance to have success.
Yeah, I should have quoted it but that’s Ray Fittipaldo’s list from this morning’s PG.
I reconciled Hurts with the thought, “Are the Philadelphia Eagles going to be looking for a quarterback anytime soon”? That answer is no. The Eagles clearly have their guy and he will almost certainly remain it for years. That makes him a franchise QB. I realize he doesn’t put up the numbers as the other guys but he doesn’t need to. He does exactly what Philly wants. The Eagles may well win another Super Bowl or two with Hurts. I can’t devalue him for playing exactly how the team wants him to play.
I’d replace Hurts with Herbert but I’m a big fan of his, and would sell the farm to pry him away from LA.
To your point all the guys you listed had some serious concerns coming out – especially Jackson. It seems most of the time the sure fire “guy”, uh, isn’t. You have to take the chance, than have great coaching support, and fit the offense to the players NOT the other way around.
I really like Justin Herbert too and he should probably be on the list. I am not sure I would remove Jalen Hurts though due to my thinking in the response to Mr. Schofield.
Your right but it speaks to a larger issue. Teams now a days are too lazy to develop a QB. Everybody is blinded by how CJ Stroud and Jayden Daniels played there rookie years and the expectation is that is the standard for every Rookie QB going forward and that is not true. Do fans remember Joe Burrow’s Rookie year? How bout Josh Allen’s rookie year and even his 2nd year? Correct me if I’m wrong but didn’t Mahomes basically sit his entire Rookie year sans the last game of the 2017 regular season.
Come on people wise up and realize what 1 Rookie QB does not equate to how every other Rookie QB plays. Everybody keeps saying that 2026 is the year to get a QB but say that’s true then what? Knowing how every fan has acted there expecting that guy to come and play like Stroud and Daniels so explain to me how is that supposed to work?
Steeler Fans are banking everything on the 26 QB Class and that is very foolish. I compare that to someone betting their entire life savings on a single spin of the Roulette Wheel. If that is what Steeler Fans believe, then fine be my guest just don’t act surprised should that class flame out.
I don’t know who you hang out with, but literally no one I know thinks Stroud and Daniels have, or even may, shift the paradigm of QB development. They are just two players with a combined 3 seasons in the NFL. How can you possibly conclude from that sample size that “teams in the NFL are now too lazy to develop QB’s…”??
I have not seen a single person here post that they want a rookie because he’ll come in and play like Stroud, or Daniels. It’s like your responding to comments from another website.
How so? You have Steeler Fans that see Stroud and Daniels Rookie years and believe that it’s norm for Rookie QB’s. So you want to know why I said that NFL Teams are to lazy to develop QB’s well I’ll use Will Levis as my prime example. See Steve Marucci visited Tennesse when Vrable was coach and he asked him “How’s the development for Levis going”? His response was “I don’t know I’m trying to win”.
Sure, that’s only 1 but when a HC regardless of what team they represent says they don’t know about the development of a Young QB then it’s a complete organizational failure. Let me ask you this: Why do so many young QB’s fail? It can’t be that they don’t study or take the game seriously cause they do, it’s that for a lot of NFL Teams there trying take advantage of the Young QB salary and rush themselves to build a Champion in short order so that the Coach keeps his job and doesn’t look like fools.
Can you sit there and find the coaching that guys like Levis got? Or how bout Darnold or Baker. In the case of Darnold and Baker yeah they got the coaching they needed down the line but where was it when they both first came in?
WHERE are these Steelers fans you speak of?? They are NOT here. They just aren’t.
One comment from Steve Marucci is your proof that NFL teams are not developing QB’s anymore out of laziness?? Where can I read the rest of the context from this interview?? You think because of Stroud and Daniels success, that the rest of the NFL just threw their hands in the air and decided they are not gonna try to develope a QB anymore. Wow. It’s the most important position in the game they are absolutely attempting to develope QB’s.
Young QB’s fail for many reasons, most typically it because because they can’t adjust to the speed, and talent of the NFL game. It happens at every level. High School studs can’t process the additional responsibilities of the college game, and can’t progress beyond that level. Doesn’t mean colleges aren’t trying to develop players. It just means they hit their ceiling and no amount of coaching can get them beyond that level. This is not new, it’s been this way in every sport since sports began.
YES! A lot of these guys get additional chances, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that. Many of them quit on their own, many fail at the interview level, and other opportunities are not afforded to them and they go on to their life’s work. This is not new, and has literally zero to do with Stroud or Daniels. Why are you so triggered by this?
Why do you state Darnold and Baker are victims of coaching, but are now successful because they finally got the coaching they need, yet get angry at the notion Fields might be ok if he has another shot at additional / different coaching? Darnold and Mayfield have both been on multiple teams with a myriad of different coaches. The Jets will be Fields third team, maybe he figures it out if he has as many chances as your guys Darnold and Mayfield. Maybe Levi’s will too, maybe every other coach in the NFL saw enough from Levis to decide they don’t want to take a chance on him. If they do I’ll trust that concensus 100% of the time vs your logic.
I agree that it’s not reasonable to expect a first year QB to play great right out of the chute. That doesn’t really change the draft expectations, though, does it? You can’t get to year two or three until you draft and go through year one. That’s why I would have no problem with the Steelers taking a QB fairly high in this draft, even with the “down” year for QBs. Grab one and see what happens. Do it again next year if you have to. The position is that critical.
Besides, What’s the worst that can happen if the Steelers draft QBs in back to back years and they both end up being good? You have two good QBs on the roster. That can never be a bad thing.
The Steelers don’t overpay for FAs. (Usually)
It’s not about shunning, it’s just their business practices.
I agree on the QB situation. The entire FA crop was underwhelming. Paying out the nose for any of them would be a bad idea.
This year is probably going to suck. Blowing the budget won’t change that. Bite the bullet.
The question is really have the Steelers fumbled/bungled the QB situation? People don’t want to pay for Wilson, Rodgers, Cousins, etc. but they think they should have signed Fields at $20M per year for two years. Fields shows flashes of potential, but it is nothing he has been able to sustain to this point. He might light it up for the Jets this season, but the odds are he will not. Players like Fields are enticing but they have fired a lot of head coaches over enticing skill sets.
I think the Steelers are going to let this play out and have their proposed #1 QB in due time. Probably the only Free Agent QB signed that was sought after was Sam Darnold. The rest of the guys are really journeymen, so you have to pick your poison. Rodgers is probably the guy that gives you the best chance to win now and when you have the Cap why not. Plus, AB84 has tweeted that it is a done deal. So there is no reason to worry.
Not too horribly upset with the Steelers FA strategy thus far. I do think going aftre one of the better CB’s should have been the plan. But the one that bugs me, personally, is they didn’t go after Mekhi Becton. I think $20 mil for two years was a good rate. He plays the opposite side of Semaulo, so Meyer wouldn’t have been able to screw that up again. I just don’t think the OL is quite strong or deep enough. The tackles are a risk, but I think you roll with it based on the investment you’ve already made there the last two years. But guard is still a bit of a risk with McCormick. They should have invested the $10 million this year to hedge that risk. I’d be feeling more confident that whoever is throwing or running the ball this year has a much better chance of success. Or, at least as a fan, I would feel the team I root for had done all they could to do so. That one obvious get with Becton being passed over is perplexing.