Historically, the Pittsburgh Steelers are not your traditional team in terms of being big players in the free-agent market. Their philosophical approach has always been to build via the draft and to complement the missing pieces with bargain rate free-agents. This off-season will be no different.
The Steelers currently find themselves salary cap-strapped, which means they must devise a game-plan aimed at retaining Pro Bowl talent ala OLB Bud Dupree, while wiping their hands clean of others such as ILB Mark Barron, OG Ramon Foster, among others.
I’d rather roll with #Steelers ILB Vince Williams as a stout run-defender giving up a little in pass coverage than ILB Mark Barron who lacks run support and shows little coverage skills. By my count, he’s the most targeted front 7 player and QBs have success at will vs him.
— Ryan Sakamoto (@BEASTwriter) October 14, 2019
A task easier said than done, as that creates other pressing needs, the Steelers have no choice but to trim where they can to retain their own, while continuing to build their fountain of youth.
So where do the Steelers go from here? As the state of their franchise currently stands, their top three needs are OL, ILB, and SS.
Some would say #49ers have team's best DL in NFL but I would argue that #Steelers is a little better. DE Stephon Tuitt playing at All-Pro level, while DE Cameron Heyward is still holding All-Pro status and NT Javon Hargrave is arguably one of the best NT in game. #BEASTwriter
— Ryan Sakamoto (@BEASTwriter) October 14, 2019
From a General Manager’s perspective, you must also be mindful of the five-year outlook. The Steelers don’t have the funds to enter a bidding war for free-agents NT Javon Hargrave, one of the top nose tackles in the game, restricted free-agent RT Matt Feiler, or pick up the club option on TE Vance McDonald. It just doesn’t make sense.
BREAKING: #LARams QB Jared Goff takes himself out of the game on that big hit by blitzing #HereWeGo CB Mike Hilton. https://t.co/6fQ2Gv7tIF
— Ryan Sakamoto (@BEASTwriter) November 10, 2019