The Steelers did the best that they could with limited resources, but these five decisions seem like questionable ones heading into training camp.
It was no secret that the Steelers were entering this offseason with one of the worst cap situations in the league. While their numbers weren’t as bad on paper as a team like the Saints, the amount of pending free agents mixed in with the lowering of the cap number overall meant the team would have been limited no matter what they did this offseason. While most of the moves they made were relatively low-risk, a few stood out as being pretty bad. Here are the five worst moves the Steelers made during the 2021 offseason.
Steelers spent money on subpar players
This may sound a bit like a nit-pick, but two of the Steelers free-agent deals really stood out as puzzling. While the Steelers handed out a plethora of contracts to middling players, many of which will likely not make the roster, most of those deals were for the minimum. This resulted in next to no cap space being taken up for their deals. However, Chris Wormley and Joe Haeg got deals worth far more than either was worth.
Now, neither player broke the bank with their deals, as their combined 2021 cap hit is only 3.1 million dollars. But in a year where the Steelers were so thin with their cap space, every penny would have helped. While not a monumental amount, that money could have gone to bettering (or maintaining) the cornerback situation or even signing a better overall player at either position. Had the team been flush with cap space these deals wouldn’t have stuck out as much. But in a year where the Steelers lost a handful of starters but added/retained these two players for as much as they did, neither deal can be looked upon too favorably.
Steelers didn’t commit to the offensive line rebuild
Now, with so many holes on the team and an overall lack of cap space, the Steelers were never going to be in the hunt for some of the top offensive linemen on the market. Likewise, with the number of needs this team had, the offensive line wasn’t going to be fixed completely through the draft. However, despite the team losing three starters along the line, little was done to truly change or better this line from last season.
No, the Steelers didn’t ignore the line this offseason. They brought back B.J. Finney and drafted Kendrick Green and Dan Moore Jr. in the third and fourth round respectfully. That said, none of these players are instant upgrades over what was lost last season. Moore will likely have a redshirt season to develop more while Green and Finney will battle it out for center. While I am high on Finney, there were better center options such as Nick Martin and Matt Skura who cost less than a million in total cap space. As for Green, long term, he has a lot of upside, but to expect a player who mostly played guard and was taken in the third round to anchor your center spot is optimistic.
This leaves the tackles, which really didn’t improve either. While Zach Banner is deserving of the opportunity to start, his contract was a little richer than most expected. On the other side of the line, Chukwuma Okorafor will retain a starting role after an average to slightly below average season at right tackle. The line needed a major overhaul this offseason, and frankly, the Steelers didn’t do enough to make that happen. For a team that was mandated to fix the run, leaving the line in this state will certainly cause some issues for rookie running back Najee Harris.
The Steelers waited on drafting defense
The Steelers had more pressing needs on offense this offseason, so it made sense that their first pick or two in the draft went to fixing those holes. While I wasn’t personally a fan of the value in taking a running back in the first, the pick certainly wasn’t a surprise. As for Pat Freiermuth, he has the potential to be a good all-around starting tight end in the NFL. Considering the need at center, this really forced the Steelers’ hands into taking three consecutive players on one side of the ball, something that has only happened one other time with the team, that being in 2016.
One would have thought, with the surplus of needs on defense, the team would have targeted a defensive back or edge rusher in the third round. Instead, the Steelers started the fourth round by selecting Moore (a fourth straight offensive player, something that has never happened) and an inside linebacker in Buddy Johnson. While both players have talent, neither fill a huge need this season. To add insult to injury, the Steelers traded a fourth-round pick next year for a defensive lineman in the fifth round, despite already overpaying Wormley earlier in the offseason.
While the Steelers got a good value in Quincy Roche in the sixth round, Tre Norwood is more of a safety than a traditional cornerback or slot option. While Shakur Brown has some hype as an undrafted option, he needs to make the roster before being counted on to start in the slot. It wasn’t a surprise that the team went offense early in the draft, but to pass on defense and eventually their top needs on defense for so long was a mistake.
Steelers cut Nelson
It isn’t often that a team cuts their starting cornerback who is in the prime of his career and on a deal below the market value for a starting cornerback, yet here we are. Despite the Steelers’ longstanding issues with drafting and developing cornerback talent, they opted to part ways with Steven Nelson seemingly due to salary cap reasons. There were so many better ways to avoid this being the scenario and now having the questionable cornerback depth that the team has heading into camp.
The simplest option would have been to retain him and potentially shave 3.1 million in cap savings from not signing either Wormley or Haeg. If the team needed more cap space, giving him an extension could have lowered his 2021 cap hit. The team could have also explored voidable years with either he or Joe Haden as well. If cutting someone was still the only answer, that player should have been Haden. He’s far older and there are some serious worries that his athleticism will fall off this season.
Cutting a player was still unnecessary though as the team could have found a way to keep everyone around for this season. Now, cornerback has once again become one of the team’s largest needs. While I am as high on James Pierre as anyone can be, throwing him into the starting role is extremely risky. Keeping Nelson around wouldn’t have been that difficult, so cutting him certainly looks like the wrong choice.
Steelers let Hilton go
Now, to be fair, not many people expected Mike Hilton to return to the Steelers this offseason. He has developed into one of, if not the, best slot cornerbacks in the league. His unique style of play makes him a weapon for a defense to use and offenses to try and scheme around. It seemed like he had a realistic shot to get 8-10 million a season and become the highest-paid slot corner in the league.
The Bengals got him for a bargain though, as he is only earning an average of 6 million dollars a season and he is easily cut after this year if need be. The fact his market value was so much less than what was expected means the Steelers could have realistically brought him back. On a deal structured how the team typically does (minimum salary year one and a signing bonus around what the contract would average out at), he could have been signed and would have had a first-year cap hit of around 2.5 million in year one.
Had the team still cut Nelson and, once again, not signed either Haeg or Wormley, they would be in an identical cap situation as they are right now, and the roster would be in better shape. Hilton would resume his role as slot corner while Cameron Sutton would become the outside starter opposite of Haden. Had his deal been for much more, this narrative would be different, but the Steelers really made a big mistake by not getting Hilton back at such a reasonable rate.
While the Steelers had limited resources to work with this offseason and a slew of pending free agents, they did their best to get a complete roster put together before training camp begins. While most of the moves aren’t noteworthy, these five certainly seem the most puzzling. Despite the good moves they made, the Steelers offseason was far from perfect as evident by these five decisions.