Steelers free agents who must be retained no matter the cost

James Pierre has proven himself for the Steelers

James Pierre has been quite the success story for the Steelers. Undrafted during the COVID season, Pierre did enough in camp to make the roster outright as a rookie. This was rather shocking since he had no preseason games to actually showcase any ability. From there, he earned a starting role in 2021, a role that he lost due to his very streaky play.

Pierre seemed locked into a special teams role for this past season, but injuries brought him back into the lineup. He didn’t disappoint, as he was one of the better cornerbacks for the team down the stretch. He made the most of his opportunity and became a dependable member of this secondary.

While Pierre isn’t a superstar, he has become a very good special teams player and a dependable starter. Can the team upgrade from him? Sure, but he should be retained through this next season at least. He is a restricted free agent on top of this, meaning the Steelers can tender him easily and his market will be harder to crack. He has earned the opportunity to be back in 2023.