5 free agents the Steelers should have called during the bye week

S Tony Jefferson

Are you starting to sense a theme here? Strong safety has been one of the biggest holes on Pittsburgh’s roster since before the Steelers even drafted Terrell Edmunds in 2018. In fact, this has been an area that has been severely lacking since the final days of Troy Polamalu.

Tony Jefferson has a chance to be an improvement here. Though he may not be an every-down or play in every sub-package at this point in his career, Jefferson has loads of experience playing both the strong safety and dime backer role. He may even be able to spell Vince Williams snaps in nickel formations on passing downs.

Remarkably, Tony Jefferson is still just 28 years old, so he’s not going to be too worn down or slow to play the position (though he was never really fast to begin with). Still, I trust Jefferson with his physicality and ability to make plays at different levels of the field. Jefferson is really more of an enforcer than a great cover guy, but his ability to step on the field and wear multiple hats could make him an asset in 2020, and he could be obtained for a very fair price.