When will Steelers get to square off against their former starters in 2021?

The Steelers have matchups against four starters from their 2020 roster. Here’s when they will face each other in 2021. 

“Well, well, well. We meet again,” said every villain of the cartoons I watched growing up. Now the Steelers will be able to use that cheesy one-liner multiple times in the 2021 season. After losing a handful of quality starters this offseason, Pittsburgh will ironically get to square off with four of them this year – some multiple times.

For most of these former players, it’s not that there are hard feelings involved or that they left the team with a shattered relationship like there was upon Antonio Brown’s and Le’Veon Bell’s departure. Still, there are fans who are always happy to see that players made the wrong decision leaving Pittsburgh in free agency. Here’s when the Steelers will be seeing each of their former 2020 starters this year:

Bud Dupree, EDGE, Titans

Week 15 @ Pittsburgh, December 19th, 1:00 PM ET

Nobody blames Bud Dupree for walking away from the Steelers this offseason, and most fans wish him the best of luck with his new team. Dupree broke the bank in free agency after signing a lucrative deal with the Tennesee Titans, and you can’t blame a man for capitalizing on an opportunity like that.

However, when these two teams face off late in the season, Steelers fans are going to hope that Dupree is a complete non-factor. The athletic edge rusher has a favorable matchup that will likely come against Chukwuma Okorafor but we hope the Steelers offensive line can keep him in check. Let’s see how he does without T.J. Watt on the opposite side of him.

Alejandro Villanueva, OT, Ravens

Week 13 @ Pittsburgh, December 5th, 4:25 PM ET

Week 18 @ Baltimore, January 9th, 1:00 PM ET

Of all the former starters that left the team this past offseason, this is probably the matchup that Steelers fans are looking forward to the most. Alejandro Villanueva was a solid left tackle for Pittsburgh, but his play has dropped off as of late.

Not only did Villanueva join our most hated rival in the Baltimore Ravens, but he took a jab at JuJu Smith-Schuster and the Steelers receivers after he left. Baltimore is likely our biggest rival for the AFC North this year, so if Villanueva ends up playing right tackle and matching up against T.J. Watt, this is a battle we can’t wait to see.

Mike Hilton, CB, Bengals

Week 3 @ Pittsburgh, September 26th, 1:00 PM

Week 12 @ Cincinnati, November 28th, 1:00 PM

It wasn’t a surprise to see Mike Hilton sign with another team this offseason. Because of the salary cap situation, we knew that the Steelers wouldn’t be able to keep both Hilton and Cameron Sutton, and Pittsburgh decided to go with the cheaper, slightly younger option.

Steelers fans loved Mike Hilton for the intensity he brought each week from the nickel cornerback position. While we wish him the best of luck, we also want to rack up the score on the Bengals defense early in both games this year. Perhaps he’ll get a chance to hit Ben on a corner blitz, but let’s hope he gets shredded in coverage by JuJu and company.

Matt Feiler, OL, Chargers

Week 11 @ Los Angeles, November 21st, 8:20 PM

Matt Feiler was never considered a star player for the Steelers, but just two years ago in 2019, he might have been their most consistent offensive lineman on the team. Last year, however, he switched from right tackle to left guard and didn’t have a great season.

Now the Steelers will get to face him under the primetime lights in Los Angeles this season. As of now, it looks like Feiler will be manning the right guard position – meaning that he’ll go toe-to-toe with Stephon Tuitt. This is a matchup that should certainly favor Pittsburgh.

I find it funny that all of these starters the Steelers lost in free agency this year have been matched up against Pittsburgh in 2021. Let’s hope we make them wish they never left.