6 potential contract extensions Steelers should not give

Alejandro Villanueva

Despite being 32 years old last season, Alejandro Villanueva held his own in pass protection in 2020 but left some to be desired in the run game. Still, you could make the case that he was Pittsburgh’s best overall offensive lineman last season, and Pro Football Focus graded him as such.

Unfortunately, Villanueva is an unrestricted free agent this offseason, and left tackles don’t grow on trees. The Steelers are likely to re-sign Zach Banner to a prove-it deal after he tore his ACL in Week 1 of the 2020 season. However, Banner does not have the skill set to play left tackle and is likely a right tackle only. Chukwuma Okorafor is another in-house option, but he really struggled in general last year and he gives no reason for confidence that Pittsburgh should start him on the left side.

Addressing offensive tackle in the NFL Draft is always an option, but with where the Steelers are picking, they are going to miss out on the top left tackle candidates, and it would be hard to start a rookie in that role. While Villanueva can fetch a pretty penny elsewhere, Roethlisberger will no doubt be lobbying to bring him back. Perhaps the Steelers give him a 2-3 year extension and keep his cap hit relatively low for the 2021 season. Sadly, this would require Pittsburgh to eat more dead money in the future as Villanueva would eventually be cut due to an unreasonable amount of backloaded money.