With a new season looming, the identity of the Steelers offense remains a mystery

On Saturday morning, I met with members of the offensive staff at our high school to begin sketching out the install for our mini-camp practices in June. Mini-camp is the unofficial beginning of the pre-season, and our installs shape the core of our offensive identity. What will the offense look like? What personnel groupings, formations, and plays will we feature? What will be our philosophy?

Ultimately, several factors will influence these decisions. What did we do well last season? What personnel do we return? How much of last year’s offense can be executed well by this year’s personnel? Each year, this process mandates tweaks and adjustments necessary to marry the scheme to the players.

I bring this up because the Steelers are less than two months from the start of their formal pre-season activities. OTA’s are set to begin May 27. Mandatory mini-camp is June 10-12. You can bet the coaching staff is hard at work evaluating their scheme on both sides of the ball, and plotting a course for when those team activities begin.

There’s just one problem, particularly when it comes to the offense. How can the Steelers create a plan when they don’t yet know who will execute it?

Some may read that last line and say, okay, we don’t officially know, but it seems pretty clear there’s a handshake deal with Aaron Rodgers in place. Others may see Arthur Smith’s return as coordinator as a sign that Pittsburgh will once again feature a big-personnel, run-heavy scheme.

Both of those things may be true. Still, I don’t remember a time when the Steelers were this deep into the off-season and had so many key questions to answer about the offense.

What’s the plan at quarterback? Again, maybe it’s Rodgers. But we won’t know until we know.

Who will supplement Jaylen Warren at running back?

Does the team plan to keep George Pickens, or trade him for resources?

Is the offensive line set, or are the Steelers contemplating competition for players like Broderick Jones, Mason McCormick, and Troy Fautanu?

Your guess is as good as mine.

On our Here We Go show on Monday, Bryan Anthony Davis and I predicted the Steelers’ quarterback room for 2025. We both had Rodgers as QB1 and Mason Rudolph as his backup. I thought the team would draft Jalen Milroe to be #3, while Bryan guessed Quinn Ewers. That’s all speculation. But the real planning for the upcoming season can’t be done until an answer is in place, at least on Rodgers.

With Rodgers at quarterback, Smith will be forced to yield some of his control of the offense. Rodgers isn’t coming to Pittsburgh to be micromanaged by a guy who wants to run the ball 60% of the time. Rodgers loves to audible plays at the line of scrimmage, and has a series of checks he uses to communicate with receivers. He also may want to implement some of his own verbiage. I don’t think Rodgers will have impunity, but I do believe he’ll be given comparable freedom to what Ben Roethlisberger received his final seasons in Pittsburgh.

If it’s not Rodgers, and Rudolph starts, Smith will take firm control, and the offense will look a lot like it did last season, hopefully with better results.

One scenario would grant Rodgers serious input in the play-calling and design of the offense. The other would leave those tasks almost solely to Smith. Those are two very different systems.

The question of a running back will likely be a product of the scheme, not a factor in determining it. If Rodgers is in house, the Steelers may want someone who can catch the ball out of the backfield more, and who is good in pass protection. In that sense, Ohio State’s TreVeyon Henderson comes to mind. If it’s Rudolph, and the Steelers are more run-heavy, they may opt for a workhorse who can absorb some of the touches they lost when Najee Harris left for Los Angeles. That could mean a player like Iowa’s Kaleb Johnson.

The Rodgers question may guide Pittsburgh’s thinking on Pickens as well. Pickens is entering the final year of his rookie deal and will likely want a big pay-day next season. If the Steelers believe they can make a run at an AFC championship with Rodgers throwing to Pickens and DK Metcalf, they may keep him. They may even entertain the notion of an extension. But if Rodgers does not sign, or if the Steelers believe moving on from Pickens now is prudent, they may go that route.

What to do with Pickens shapes how the Steelers will proceed in the draft. If they keep him, the receiver room is pretty much set, with Pickens, Metcalf, Calvin Austin III, Roman Wilson, Ben Skowronick, and Scotty Miller. Receiver will not be a priority in the draft. If Pickens is dealt, they’ll need to draft a replacement, which means spending a premium pick at the position.

Then you have the line. Mike Tomlin was asked recently if he believes the team has five starting-caliber offensive linemen on the roster right now. This was his answer:

“I feel like we have some guys that are certainly capable of the role. But to say that as I sit here today, would be untrue. I don’t know who I’m going to end up with or who I’m going to be in position to consider.”

That’s an understandable response,  given how Jones is moving from right to left tackle, McCormick struggled at times last season, and Fautanu is yet to play a snap in an NFL game. There are questions as to whether last year’s line fit Smith’s zone-based run scheme, too. Are the Steelers content with their current personnel, or are there moves yet to be made up front?

The bottom line is this: it’s April, and the Steelers have major questions about the offense. Not just in terms of who will man certain positions, but about how those individuals will shape its identity. No one is arguing the unit has to be complete right now, given the fact they won’t play a real football game for five months. But as the great Yogi Berra once said, “It gets late early out there.” The time is near for the Steelers to start answering some of their questions.

For more of my work, follow me on X @KTSmithFFSN, and check out my “Call Sheet Daily” podcast, which runs Monday-Friday at 10 AM on all major platforms.