Steelers 2022 offseason additions more than outweigh their losses

The Pittsburgh Steelers had a lot of roster turnover this season, but here’s why they are unquestionably a better team on paper in 2022.

It doesn’t seem like the general football media is giving the Pittsburgh Steelers much of a chance to compete during the 2022 season. The AFC is suddenly stacked with young, promising quarterbacks, while Pittsburgh recently lost Ben Roethlisberger to retirement.

When it comes to odds of winning the division this year, the Steelers are in a distant last place. According to WynnBET, Mike Tomlin’s team is currently +1000 to win the AFC North. Meanwhile, the Ravens, Bengals, and Browns each have odds of +250 or better to claim the division title.

While repeating a record as good as 9-7-1 this year would be challenging for a number of reasons, it’s hard to argue that the Steelers are a worse team on paper in 2022. Here’s a look at their key losses versus their key additions this offseason:

Admittedly, the Steelers lost some big names this offseason, but they were good in 2022 by reputation only. Ben Roethlisberger really showed his age. The 39-year-old quarterback struggled to complete passes beyond 10 air yards and his efficiency took yet another dip.

Partially as a result of this, JuJu Smith-Schuster wasn’t very good for the five games that he did appear in prior to his season-ending shoulder injury. The former Pro Bowler’s average reception was just 4.1 yards past the line of scrimmage and he averaged a dismal 4.6 yards per target — by far the lowest mark of his career.

Meanwhile, Joe Haden proved to be a liability for Steelers passing defense down the stretch. He surrendered a 100.1 passer rating on the season, according to Pro Football Reference, including nearly a perfect passer rating allowed in two contests against the Kansas City Chiefs (including the playoffs).

Steelers roster is stronger in 2022

While we haven’t seen some of these new additions in action yet, it’s just hard to make a case that the Steelers somehow have a worse roster than they did last year. While some have pointed to Stephon Tuitt being the biggest loss after his retirement, it’s important to consider that he never once suited up for this team in 2021 anyway.

I have very little doubt that the offensive line should be improved with the additions of James Daniels and Mason Cole. The Steelers are also getting Kevin Dotson back from IR (who missed nearly half of the 2021 season with a high ankle sprain).

Likewise, the wide receiver corps should be improved. JuJu and McCloud were very inefficient, while James Washington could hardly make his way onto the field. Replacing this lackluster crew with high-upside rookies like George Pickens and Calvin Austin III as well as special teams studs Miles Boykin and Gunner Olszewski should be a noticeable improvement.

The biggest question comes at the quarterback position. While I don’t think Roethlisberger’s 2021 performance is a high bar to clear, this offense could still potentially struggle with poor QB play from the gate in 2022, and if they have more turnovers, it has the potential to be worse than the one we saw last year. However, I don’t think it’s likely that this team earns fewer yards or score fewer points by the end of the season.

With roughly $20 million in cap space, the Steelers might not be done making roster moves quite yet. Either way, I think it’s pretty safe to say that their 2022 offseason additions outweigh their losses this year.