4 notable Steelers likely playing their final year in 2021

Steelers JuJu Smith-Schuster

To be fair, I was saying the same thing about J.J. Smith-Schuster this time last year. He was entering a contract year and receivers tend to get paid well as free agents. The 2021 free agency pool of receivers was undervalued though, and as a result, it opened the door for the team to bring Smith-Schuster back on an extremely team-friendly deal. Now, the team is in a similar spot as they were last year, and it once again seems as though Smith-Schuster will be out the door.

Frankly, Smith-Schuster made a smart bet on himself returning to the Steelers this season. The Ravens are a run-heavy team, and the Chiefs focus their passing around only a few core players. With the Steelers, Smith-Schuster has familiarity and is still the perceived top dog of the group. As well, Matt Canada will hopefully allow him to run some deeper routes, as his usage, as essentially a running back in the passing game severely limited his production.

The issue is, will he want to return to a team that is likely led by Rudolph next season? I would guess no. Even if he did, with Chase Claypool set to develop more entering his second season, the Steelers may opt to roll with him instead of trying to pay Smith-Schuster top money. Expect Smith-Schuster to rebound this season, but the odds of him returning are slim. If he balls out, the team will have to franchise tag him so he avoids free agency. If he is just a marginal starter, he may go elsewhere and look for a better opportunity.

The Steelers are in a precarious position entering this season. While the roster is still talented, it is quickly falling apart. These four core starters are entering potentially their final year with the team. For each of them, except for maybe DeCastro, there seems like there is little that they can do to keep them on this team past 2021.