Who has the most to prove this coming season for the Steelers
When looking back at the Steelers’ 2024 season, it felt like the same old story—but within that, there were several mini storylines that gave us more insight into individual players and where they currently stand within the franchise, sometimes in a negative light. These storylines aren’t limited to just young players with something to prove after underwhelming starts to their careers; they also include established veterans who, for a variety of reasons, didn’t perform at the level we’ve come to expect. This leave those players in a position in 2025 where they must perform or it may raise questions around their Steelers future.
Lets take a look into a few players who’s could fall into this category for 2025…
Broderick Jones
High pedigree comes with high expectation, and after year two of his NFL career this doesn’t apply to anyone more on the 2025 roster than the 2023 first round pick. His 2024 season was a rollercoaster to say the least starting with losing his starting job to Dan Moore and rookie Troy Fautanu while experiencing an elbow issue. However due to Fautanu’s injury Jones was the week one starter at right tackle. He had a very slow start to the season, allowing pressure, missing assignments in the run game and giving up multiple flags.
However after the bye there was an uptick in the level of play for Jones which we can hope builds into his third season as a pro. The hope is Jones uses his elite physical tools and becomes the bookend tackle in his preferred Left Tackle position this season. However if he can’t do so or show enough consistent play this season there will be serious questions surrounding his future in a Steelers uniform.
Minkah Fitzpatrick
The former multiple-time First-Team All-Pro safety has experienced back-to-back down years due to injuries and a lack of box score production. He has still been effective—making his tackles and being a player that opposing teams don’t often target—but what made Minkah so special was the magic he could produce. That’s why he earned his four-year, $73 million extension in 2022, making him one of the highest-paid players at a position that isn’t traditionally seen as premium on an NFL roster.
If the player is special, like Minkah was between 2021 and 2023, you don’t mind paying top dollar for a safety. But when you’re not creating splash plays, it becomes harder to justify a $24 million cap hit in 2026. This makes 2025 a crucial year for Minkah. If he can return to producing at his best, his $24 million cap hit in 2026 becomes much easier to justify—potentially even opening the door to an extension, as he’ll still only be 29 next offseason. However, if he falls short of his own high standards again, doubts will start to creep in about how much longer Minkah might be part of the Steelers’ future.
For the record, I personally have a lot of belief in Fitzpatrick, and I expect him to be back at the top of his game in 2025.
Jaylen Warren
It may be a surprise to see Jaylen Warren’s name on this list, but it’s not due to performance—it’s more about an increased role, contract length, and the overall trend at the running back position. Warren wasn’t at his best early in 2024 due to a lingering injury, but toward the end of the season, he started to look more like himself.
However, with the departure of his running mate Najee Harris—who carried the bulk of the workload—Warren is now in line for a much larger share of the touches, unless the Steelers somehow land Ashton Jeanty in the draft. One of the key questions Warren needs to answer is whether he can handle being the 1A back in a committee from both a health and production standpoint. If he can take the uptick in touches in stride, Warren will be taking the first step toward becoming the Steelers true lead back.
If the Steelers don’t spend a high draft pick (like pick 21) on the position, and Warren proves he can take on the RB1 role, it will raise the question of whether the team will look to re-sign him—especially with his contract set to expire after this season. It would likely take a very strong campaign for that to happen, considering the Steelers just let a back walk in free agency who rushed for over 1,000 yards in four straight seasons and was incredibly durable throughout his tenure. There were clearly other factors as to why Harris left but it shows the will take a special season to give a running back a multi year extension.
You could certainly argue that other players also need to put together a big season, but I landed on these three because I believe they each need to perform in 2025 for contrasting reasons.
Do you think the names on this list will step up in a season when the pressure is dialed up? Or are there other players you’d put forward as needing to deliver in 2025?
Mike Tomlin, quite easily. If he posts yet another “winning record” and makes the playoffs with Aaron Rodgers at QB and Art Smith as his OC, NOW can he prepare a team to play aggressively and competitively in a playoff game? If not, that chisels the answer in stone.
Regarding Tomlin no matter how much of a hot seat he gets from fans I feel like its tough to say the team will move on from him regarding something catastrophic. He does need to start winning important games but thats been the sentiment for 7 years and there has still be no real threat to his job
I’d say Jones has to prove it this season. I’d also say Warren doesn’t “have” to prove anything, rather he has an opportunity to prove he can be a guy.
Rudolph has a similar opportunity….if he gets to play.
Jones just has to trend in the right direction. He is still super young. He will only be 24 this season. Tackles can play a long time, and dumping someone who was understood to be super raw after a few seasons could be a big mistake, especially if they are improving.
Certainly, Warren has shown anything to say that his future should be up in the air for the future but this is a season where he has to prove he’s more than a complimentary piece to a running back room and could potentially be a lead back
I know that this article is about who has the most to prove but if we expand it to who has something to prove then the conversation becomes easier as Broderick Jones probably universally will be seen as having most to prove.
Troy Fautanu. He had a nice preseason last year but can he do it again and in real games after coming back from a pretty bad injury?
Joey Porter Jr. He had a classic sophomore slump last year. Was that a one year thing or is that who he is?
George Pickens. He is in the last year of his contract. That gives him something to prove in and of itself.
Arthur Smith. Assuming Aaron Rodgers is the QB, will Smith be able to craft and offense and allow Aaron Rodgers to play within it in a manner that keeps the former content?
Yep, you can absolutely make the cases for these players needing to have a bounce back year. But for me the three in the article maybe seemed more pressing at this time.