4 Steelers that don’t deserve a second chance in 2022

Kendrick Green #53 of the Pittsburgh Steelers (Photo by Joe Sargent/Getty Images)
Kendrick Green #53 of the Pittsburgh Steelers (Photo by Joe Sargent/Getty Images) /
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Zach Banner #72 of the Pittsburgh Steelers. (Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images) /

Steelers Banner

This one stings on a personal level because seeing Zach Banner develop into a potential starter was a lot of fun. He came into camp almost being out of the league, developed into the eligible offensive lineman, and was later slated to start at right tackle. The past two seasons have derailed that growth, as injuries in 2020 limited him in 2021. Now it’s hard to justify keeping him on the roster.

While tearing his ACL in 2020 was unfortunate, the team still viewed him as their stater as evident by the sizable extension they gave him last season. Injuries reappeared though, and by the time he was healthy, the line had already been playing together for half a season. That said, given the struggles this unit had, the fact that he never got to start is pretty disappointing.

We would be having an entirely different conversation if Banner was on a cheap deal close to the veteran minimum. Instead, he is an overpaid backup right now that can’t be kept at his current salary. Unless he takes a pay cut or the Steelers announce that he is the starting right tackle (neither seems that likely) then Banner needs to be cut. You can’t pay him that kind of money again to let him sit on the bench.