Same Steelers philosophy or is more on the horizon?
After the way the Pittsburgh Steelers 2024 season ended with five straight losses including the playoffs, there was not much hope in Steelers Nation. But as the Steelers head towards the beginning of the 2025 NFL league year, it appeared there could be hope on the horizon. The Steelers had an unprecedented amount of salary cap space with options to increase it (which they did by releasing Larry Ogunjobi), and they pulled off a big-time wide receiver trade, something they weren’t able to do in 2024.
After requiring DK Metcalf Sunday evening, Steelers fans were starting to get excited despite the team not having their quarterback situation settled. They had the money to make some splash in free agency. What would come next?
When the legal tampering period began on Monday at noon, Steelers fans were ready for action. What were they doing at quarterback? Were they going to add a big-time cornerback or defensive lineman? What else did they have up their sleeve with all this cap space?
As Black & Gold fans have grown to expect, there wasn’t a lot of action early on with the Pittsburgh Steelers when it came to signing new players. In fact, the action was former Steelers being signed away with big contracts.
Admittedly, most of the signings by former Steelers players were expected. Losing Elandon Roberts was one that I thought would not happen, but when the Steelers added a linebacker earlier the day it also became expected. The biggest loss, as it was a player the Steelers were attempting to sign, was quarterback Justin Fields.
As familiar names flew off the board with big-time contracts, Steelers fans were wondering what their team had in store. What did they do on the first day of free agency? They agreed to terms with a 34 year-old cornerback who has not officially been released from his previous team and added an inside linebacker to a group that was already pretty deep. Additionally, the Steelers still only have Skyler Thompson under contract at quarterback for 2025 as the options continue to dwindle.
So was this the Steelers plan all along?
Even having the most salary cap space that I remember for the Steelers, they still were not big players during the initial free agent frenzy.
Almost 24 hours since the legal tampering period began, the Steelers still do not have a quarterback or the expected level of signing that some of Steelers Nation was looking for. For those who thought the Steelers were still going to maintain their typical philosophy even with their unprecedented amount of salary cap space, it seems this has been the case thus far.
Or, as Steelers fans have seen before, has the plan just not come together yet?
To quote Aaron Burr from the musical Hamilton, are the Steelers standing still or are they lying in wait?
It’s hard to see right now. It’s also difficult to get excited right now even after the Steelers made the big move for DK Metcalf on Sunday. As much as I’d like to say we fans need to trust the process, it seemed like things were going to be different this year with this amount of money. Perhaps it’s not. All we can do is continue to wait.
I know it’s possible that as soon as I publish this the news we fans have been waiting for with the Steelers will come. I can only hope so.
We must be patient. it will pay off. just look where Kenny Pickett ended up he is now a member of the mistake by the lake. He is now a part of one of the biggest trash franchises in the league sometimes you have to be careful for what you ask for.
Rob, we were told the same thing last summer when we were assured the Steelers would land that all-important WR1/WR2 they so badly needed for the 2024 season. One by one, rumors didn’t pan out and were replaced by new, successively lower impact rumors until they finally picked up Mike Williams at the last possible instant, threw him one really nice TD pass and closed the book.
We finally have the wide receiver we’ve needed for a year but now seem to be going through the same progression at quarterback.
Wanted: A young, talented, mobile quarterback who watched any part of the Steelers’ last five games of the 2024 season or any of their last six playoff appearances and would still like to come here and play for this head coach, a latter day Marty Schottenheimer who throttles offenses, can’t prepare his team for a playoff game, has never developed a quarterback and has reneged on his promises to several other candidates; and this owner, who is widely panned as cheap and disengaged, has never hired a head coach and is a catalyst for nothing but continuity.
Ok, step right up, who’s first?
(sound of crickets)
Are you really surprised?
Now the Steelers are negotiating with an Aaron Rodgers who knows they have nowhere else to go.
Nicely played.
I still think the Steelers have one more big signing. Might be on the OL. For whatever reason, that rumor from weeks ago just seemed to ring more true than the others. We’ll see. I also think we’ll eventually hear they made a big push for Williams on the DL, but he was just out of reach. Even with all the cap, not every player can be signed. Even when you’re the top bidder, the player might simply prefer to play elsewhere. Like we heard, some literally make their decision based on the city’s climate. Nothing can be done about that.
I would be curious, though we’ll never know, if any of the NFLPA survey results have anything to do with free agents going to other places. If two teams offer similar contracts, why not go to the place with a much nicer working environment, state-of-the-art facilities, state-of-the-art training staff, better family treatment and experience on gameday, better food at the cafeteria, etc.? Ultimately, yes, $5M is likely more valuable than better food, nicer lockers, and a better weight room, but when you’re competing against other teams for the best talent, you never know.
Imagine where the Steelers would be in recruiting talent if they didn’t have Tomlin. Seems like he’s the only draw, and when that doesn’t work, they don’t have much else to offer unless they flat outbid other teams. They’re not winning a SB, so no one is coming here to chase a ring.
I am hoping that the Steelers can get Jax, Chi, or NOLA to take 21 for their 2nd and 3rd rounders. Could probably get a good RB and DT and maybe a QB at 83.
I don’t like the idea of bringing in Aaron Rodgers or bringing back Russell Wilson. But should the Steelers sign Rodgers, it would indicate they think they’ve got a reasonable shot at being a contender this season. But even with Rodgers at QB, plus a bolstered receiver corps, the chances are pretty slim for this team to be contending seriously during the upcoming season.
I’d rather see the Steelers acquire another young QB with strong potential. Drafting QBs is always a gamble, but the Steelers are in a position now where they need to roll the dice if they expect to find the right player. They should trade up as highly as possible in the upcoming draft to get the very best QB prospect available — even if it costs them some current talent and future draft picks. Bottom line is that nothing else is going to click for this organization until they find the right QB. Ever since Big Ben retired, this organization has been spinning their wheels and it’s time for them finally to get out of their rut.