With the dust settling on free agency, we're getting a good look at NFL teams ahead of the 2025 NFL Draft. Some teams broke the bank to patch roster holes with high-budget free agents, while other front offices sat on their hands and watched free agency unfold with little roster movement. The Pittsburgh Steelers didn't make the splash most expected.
Despite entering the 2025 offseason with roughly $60 million in salary cap space, and with no shortage of needs to fill, the Steelers seemingly played the compensatory formula game. In the first several weeks of free agency, Omar Khan didn't make any signings that would otherwise wipe away any of the four comp picks his team is set to receive in the 2026 NFL Draft.
But by doing so, the Steelers haven't improved on paper. If anything, they've gone the other way.
This offseason, Pittsburgh waved goodbye to former starters like Dan Moore Jr., James Daniels, Najee Harris, Larry Ogunjobi, Elandon Roberts, and Donte Jackson. Meanwhile, Darius Slay—a 34-year-old cornerback—was the Steelers' biggest free-agent signing of 2025.
On Monday, the NFL Nation staff at ESPN comprised NFL power rankings with free agency slowing down. ESPN has the Pittsburgh Steelers as the 17th-ranked team in the league ahead of the NFL Draft.
Beat reporter Brooke Pryor labeled Juan Thornhill as the biggest under-the-radar move of the Steelers' offseason.
"Injuries have kept Thornhill from playing a complete season since 2021, and he hasn't forced a turnover since a three-interception campaign in 2022 (his final year in Kansas City)," Pryor wrote. "But the 2019 second-round pick is a younger safety option with more upside than 31-year-old Damontae Kazee, who is an unrestricted free agent after three seasons in Pittsburgh. The rest of the safety position was a patchwork group in 2024, with Cameron Sutton moving from corner to safety and the brief return of former first-round pick Terrell Edmunds."
The fact that ESPN highlighted the signing of a backup safety shows just how quiet the Steelers have been so far this offseason. While I'm not advocating for the Pittsburgh Steelers to blow their salary cap budget on a handful of overpriced free agents, it's time to implement lasting change to vault his team out of mediocrity.
The Pittsburgh Steelers must stray from the status quo to vault out of NFL purgatory
The Pittsburgh Steelers have been stuck in NFL purgatory for too long. The last time it felt this franchise had a chance to be dangerous in the postseason came all the way back in 2017—when Ben Roethlisberger was still playing at a high level and the offense didn't struggle to put points on the board.
We are quietly approaching a decade since then, and the Steelers need to stray from the status quo to get out of this rut.
For too long, this team has escaped from free agency with a few mid-level signings. From 2018 to 2022, this was followed by repeated reach picks for positional needs in the NFL Draft from former GM Kevin Colbert. With Omar Khan and Andy Weidl running the front office, Pittsburgh needs to think 'big picture' and build the foundation of the roster.
The primary focus of this team should be to secure cornerstone players and give the next quarterback—whoever that might be—every possible chance to succeed.
Obviously, landing a respectable quarterback will help. Right now, Mason Rudolph would be the starting QB on the Pittsburgh Steelers if the season ended today. Because of this, it's hard to argue the Steelers should be higher on the NFL power rankings.
Aaron Rodgers would offer a temporary fix that would undoubtedly give Pittsburgh a boost in the power rankings, but the window to capitalize on playoff success would once again slam shut after the 2025 season.
If this team wants lasting change, they need to stop the patchwork roster-building job and quit making short-sighted moves to keep their head above water. This may even come at the expense of having a down season, but if that's what sparks real chance, it will be worth it to vault the Steelers out of mediocrity.