Offseason catastrophes Steelers must avoid in 2023

Steelers must avoid mediocre players in free agency

Another big issue the Steelers have gotten themselves into in the past is by signing mediocre players in free agency to become below-average starters on their team. This is a trend they have gotten themselves into in recent years.

Over the past several seasons, Pittsburgh has forked up pretty good money for unspectacular players on a downward trend like TE Eric Ebron and OG Trai Turner. Even many of the players they signed last offseason proved to be unspectacular. I said at the time that giving that much money to Myles Jack was a mistake, and that proved to be the case.

Instead of piecing out their money to underwhelming has-beens who can temporarily fill a hole on their roster, the Steelers need to think bigger. It would be more beneficial to dish out a huge contract to an excellent player in the prime of their career at an important position (like a high-end cornerback, offensive tackle, or interior defender).

Doing so would give the Steelers another player to build around rather than half a dozen bad contracts that they will look at getting out of just one year later.