4 moves the Pittsburgh Steelers must make as soon as possible
By Scott Long
The Steelers have come out of the gates slow this season, and if they are to have any playoff hopes this season, they must make these 4 moves ASAP.
Despite a week 1 win against the favored Buffalo Bills, the Steelers have fallen flat to start the season, after dropping two straight home games to the Las Vegas Raiders and Cincinnati Bengals.
Their early-season struggles can be attributed to a number of reasons including injuries, poor offensive-line play, a one-dimensional offense, poor play from Ben Roethlisberger, and penalties. If the team has any hopes of making a playoff run this year, they have to clean these things up, and the following four moves are ones the Steelers could make to sure up those issues and potentially turn their season around.
4. Steelers should release Eric Ebron
Eric Ebron showed flashes of being an extremely effective tight end for the Steelers last year, as his physical frame gave Roethlisberger a nice red-zone target. However, he struggled with drops throughout the year and is a liability as a blocker.
However, his liabilities have heightened this year, while his upside as a red zone threat has seemingly plummeted. Through three games he has one catch for 19 yards on seven targets. He has sprinkled in some drops and remains a liability as a blocker.
With the emergence of Pat Freiermuth at tight end, Ebron has taken a backseat as he is inferior as a receiver and a blocker. With Ebron not contributing anything as a blocker, and struggling with drops, releasing him would make a whole lot of sense. The Steelers could look to cut him and replace him with a free agent like Luke Stocker who excels as a blocker, or could look to sign a backup tight end like Trey Burton who can handle himself as a receiver and a blocker.
Releasing Ebron and replacing him with a better blocking tight end could allow the Steelers to get some much-needed help in the running game, while also allowing Freiermuth to fully take the reigns as the top tight end.