Steelers winners and losers in Week 17 loss to Ravens

Losers

Terrell Edmunds

If it wasn’t for the trade of Minkah Fitzpatrick, the Steelers’ safety position would’ve been an utter disaster. The former first-round pick, Terrell Edmunds, did not play well, and for the season its possible to not even be label it a sophomore slump.

Based on profootballreference.com advanced stats, Edmunds may have been the biggest liability on defense. Of the 50 targets Edmunds would defend in 2019, he allowed 36 completions on 10.7 yards per target, as opposing QBs had a 139.8 QBR when throwing against him. And the tackling was no better.

From his rookie to sophomore year, Edmunds would miss on 8.7% (+2.7) tackling attempts, although he would combine for 27 more tackles. Knowing the level this defense can reach, the leash may be short for Edmunds heading into 2020 and his replacement could be right around the corner.

Mark Barron

Missed tackles & bad angles were exuberant not only in this game for the Steelers defense but for the year Mark Barron had. Only providing one tackle against Baltimore, he consistently failed to make plays when they were in front of him. Sad in the sense that a player may be losing his job, but if performance doesn’t live up to what’s being asked, it’s business.

According to spotrac.com, Barron is currently a $3,875,000 cap hit that will add $5,750,000 in dead cap if the Steelers were to release/trade on a pre-6/1 release. As opposed to a post-6/1 trade or release, the Steelers can actually save a million into their 2020 cap and will only become a $2,875,000 cap hit.

Turning 30 next year and not being able to provide many benefits when on the field, a likely option could be that the two sides part ways in the offseason.