3 players the Steelers can’t afford to lose during the 2022 offseason
By Tommy Jaggi
The Pittsburgh Steelers could have a good deal of roster turnover this offseason, but they must find a way to keep these three players in 2022.
The 2022 free agency period is underway and fans of all teams will be at the edge of their seats to see which players are returning to the team and who will be playing for a different city this year.
The Pittsburgh Steelers have more salary-cap space to work with this year than they’ve ever had before, and they should be able to make a few splash moves this offseason. Sadly, some of the players I really want them to keep are testing the free-agent market.
All we can do at this point is hope that they decide that Pittsburgh is where they want to stay. Here are three players the Steelers can’t afford to lose this offseason:
Steelers must keep Terrell Edmunds
Terrell Edmunds got a bad rap from the gate as nearly every NFL Draft analyst thought he was selected too high. As the 28th overall pick in 2018, Edmunds didn’t meet lofty expectations early in his career, but after his second season, the athletic safety really started to turn things around.
Edmunds has now strung together two very impressive seasons of play. While he will probably never be a player who takes the ball away at a very high rate, Edmunds has become much more consistent both in coverage and when it comes to run defense. In 2021, he allowed just a 63.7 passer rating on the season, according to Pro Football Reference — the second-best number among defensive backs on the team.
In addition to his best play coming most recently, Edmunds turned just 25 years old in January and his best football should still be ahead of him. Edmunds is now an unrestricted free agent who is free to negotiate with another team, but the Steelers need to find a way to keep him and Minkah Fitzpatrick together for the long haul.