It looked like the Pittsburgh Steelers were going to go hog-wild in free agency this offseason. This team had the most cap space in their own history, and with plenty of needs and talent galore, it looked like this team was poised to make a splash.
After the first day of legal tampering, the Steelers have instead fallen flat on their face.
The team watched as most of the big names who made sense for them at cornerback went off the board. From the top-level outside cornerbacks to Nate Hobbs in the slot, this team missed out on some of the best names to boost their secondary.
The quarterback situation was a complete disaster. Justin Fields opted to sign with the Jets, citing a more competitive offer from them than what Pittsburgh gave. There was a late push to land Sam Darnold, but he ended up with the Seahawks.
We have also seen some of the top defensive line targets that made sense for this team go elsewhere. Many of the great talents that made a lot of sense for the Steelers are now under contract elsewhere.
Don’t worry though, we got a two-down run stuffer at linebacker in Malik Harrison to replace (unfortunately) Elandon Roberts.
The Pittsburgh Steelers must sign young free agents to aim for the future
While this team was never going to attack free agency as aggressively as many hoped that they would, only coming away with Harrison at a position three deep is a disappointment. This team is without a quarterback and watched as most of the cornerback talent was zapped by other teams.
The Steelers are expected to sign Darius Slay. I like Slay, but adding him pales in comparison to some of the other top names who are younger and more talented at this point. Given the fact that a quarterback isn’t on the roster, adding an aging cornerback like that makes even less sense.
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There is still a sliver of hope though. A cornerback like Asante Samuel Jr. is still out there and would be well worth bringing in. There are also some other core defenders that would make sense for the Steelers to target and sign.
Quarterback is a different story. At this point, there is no appealing free-agent option. Personally, I would go for a complete room rebuild with a Mac Jones or Daniel Jones leading the way with my eye on the 2026 quarterback class. That said, Russell Wilson on a deal you can easily get out of might be what the team settles for.
Really, at this point, the team should be focused on the future. They dropped the ball at finding a potential franchise quarterback, and the worst thing they can do is get desperate for an aging an inferior option.
What you can do is still pay up for some young and promising talent and go into next year with a poor quarterback room. This gives you a capable core for a rookie quarterback to work with. Unfortunately, knowing how this team operates, I fear that some moves will come in that reek of desperation.