4 Pittsburgh Steelers who desperately needed a change of scenery in 2022

The Pittsburgh Steelers had a lot of roster turnover this offseason, but here are four players who desperately needed a change of scenery in 2022. 

It seems like every year following the NFL Draft, fans always seem to think that their team was better than it was the year before. For the Pittsburgh Steelers, that might actually be the case in 2022.

While Pittsburgh suffered significant losses during the 2021 offseason, they didn’t lose any key contributors or great starters this year, and in their place. They were able to find solid talent through the draft and free agency. Here are four Steelers who desperately needed a change of scenery in 2022:

Steelers former OT Banner

I don’t fault the Steelers for experimenting with Zach Banner. The former fourth-round pick by the Indianapolis Colts back in 2017 bounced around before he landed in Pittsburgh. From there, he worked hard to condition and re-shape his body.

Mike Tomlin had high hopes for Banner, but it just never worked out. This could have been due to the big offensive tackle suffering a torn ACL in Week one of the 2020 season. However, even when he returned to complete health, he was just the fourth OT on the roster behind Dan Moore, Chukwuma Okorafor, and Joe Haeg.

The Steelers didn’t even play Banner in the final game of the 2021 season — a  choice that would have saved them a compensatory fifth-round draft choice. Banner was getting paid way too much to simply warm the bench and his release was one of the easiest decisions Pittsburgh’s front office made this offseason. I really hope Banner lands back on his feet, but it just wasn’t going to work out with the Steelers.