The Steelers are looking to compete for a title in 2021.
We all know how hard it is to find a franchise quarterback. With 2021 likely being Ben’s last season, there is a good chance the Steelers end up in a bit of a rebuilding period after this season. The surprise release of David DeCastro has led to a bit of cap space Pittsburgh could eat up with a free agent signing.
None of the players I am mentioning would leave much more cap room for another quality signing before training camp, but each of them would make an impact in one way or another.
I’m not entirely sold on the offensive line heading into training camp.
I do think that there is a lot of potential in most of the new line the Steelers will be fielding in 2021. However, The most experienced lineman when it comes to starting games in black and gold will be Chukwuma Okorafor. The recent signing of Trai Turner was a good one, but another veteran could be added to the group.
Rick Wagner isn’t going to be an All-Pro at this stage of his career. However, he was very good in 2020, until a nagging knee injury led to Shaquill Barret having a fantastic performance in the NFC Championship game. It was obvious that Wagner was missing a step with his knee, allowing 3 sacks. He had only allowed 1 in the entire regular season. Zach Banner will likely be the starting right tackle, but Wagner would, at the worst, elevate Banner’s game in order for Banner to earn his job. If they were both healthy and I had a choice for who would start tomorrow the choice would easily be Wagner as of now.
Even if Wagner doesn’t win a starting job, he would easily be the top backup to our exterior o-line. Another veteran presence who has seen it all suiting up in the black and gold would be incredibly helpful in the trenches.
We need depth on the edge and Murphy fits the bill
Murphy was widely known in Buffalo as the robin to Jerry Hughes’ batman. The reason why he is my favorite free agent edge defender is because of his skillset. He is not an elite pass rusher. He has been, however, one of the best in the league for a while at setting the edge in the run game. Without being an uber-athlete, his technique and smarts more than make up for it. I don’t think he can beat Alex Highsmith for the starting job, but he would be a great rotational piece.
It would be a luxury to add such a great run defender on our bench in our division. The Browns and the Ravens are both at their best being able to run the ball. I am far from sold on both Quincy Roche and Cassius Marsh in that department. We saw the playoff loss against the Browns. Marsh was a liability from the start of the game until the end of the game. While Roches was a rotational pass-rusher in College utilized as a rusher and not much of anything else.
At 30, Murphy still has tread left on the tires and he has more than enough left in the tank as a rotational piece. Moreso, if Watt or Highsmith were to go down with injury I would be comfortable with Murphy as a short-term starter until they are healed. While losing Bud Dupree as a pass rusher hurt, losing him as a run defender is far worse.
For years, Jurrell Casey was Tennessee’s version of Cam Heyward
Before you get mad at me for making the comparison Cam Heyward has played 149 games in his career. Casey has played 142 games himself. Heyward has 7 more sacks than Casey, while Casey has 56 more tackles than Heyward. Casey has never had the chance to play for a true contender and would probably take a discount at this point in his career to do so.
The Steelers are set with their top 3 on the interior. Stephon Tuitt, Tyson Alualu, and Cam Heyward are a 3 headed monster on the inside. Casey would easily make it 4. The gap between the 3 isn’t very large. Yet, we saw what losing Alualu for a couple of games did to the inside of our defense in 2020. I think his loss was as big if not bigger than the loss of Bud Dupree with the torn ACL. There is such a massive dropoff in talent between our top 3 and everyone behind them it makes me nervous.
Both Heyward and Alualu are getting older, while Tuitt has an injury history. Having an extra force to lower everyone’s snap count would lead to them being fresher, and hopefully healthier with a 17 game regular season. The Steelers already know about their lack of quality depth here. This was made evident when they opted to take Isaiah Loudermilk instead of any cornerback in the draft.
Casey wasn’t bad in Denver and his play would likely improve in a rotational role. This move helps fortify our championship-caliber defense after such a tough offseason.
I’ve said it before and I will say it again Richard Sherman
Few players in the league are as cerebral as Richard Sherman. He would come in and push any of our cornerbacks for snaps. I have seen reports that the Steelers want Cameron Sutton on the outside, but Sherman would ruin those plans as of now. The Steelers didn’t lose a great coverage guy in Mike Hilton, but Hilton created a splash in most of his games in 2020.
Even if Sutton managed to beat out Sherman for a roster spot, there is no saying that Joe Haden could. If Sherman managed to lose to both of them, he would have to be in the slot. He is still a great talent in this league even if his All-Pro days are behind him.
He instantly creates depth by bumping everyone down the depth chart slightly, and he would alleviate the loss of Steven Nelson as well. I don’t know if this will happen yet, But this would be my favorite signing across the NFL heading into 2021.
These signings would all impress me in one way or another, but they all have one thing in common. They are veteran players that could give the Steelers a major boost in an area of need. This is probably the last chance to take advantage of having Ben Roethlisberger on the roster and one of these moves would help do so.