Once again, the Pittsburgh Steelers have been aggressive in free agency, and it's not necessarily a bad thing. However, with no current quarterback solution in sight, many of the moves made this offseason might not matter if Aaron Rodgers retires, and if this team can't find another one-year, Band-Aid solution.
On paper, though, this roster is really nothing more than good. But if Rodgers does return for one more season, there would be reason to believe that the Steelers could scrape together another 10-win season and a playoff berth.
But anything more than that feels like a dream. One area where the team may have actually taken a step back this offseason was along the offensive line. Former starting guard Isaac Seumalo signed with the Arizona Cardinals, which has created a hole along the interior. Zach Frazier and Mason McCormick are entrenched as two of the interior starters, but there is still a hole needing to be filled.
Mekhi Becton picked as a free agent who could help the Pittsburgh Steelers
Gary Davenport talked about why the veteran Mekhi Becton could help out the Steelers along the offensive line:
"It's possible the Steelers could use the 21st overall pick on a lineman. But the team has other needs on both sides of the ball, and the interior linemen still on the market should be available at something of a discount—including guard Mekhi Becton.
Becton's 2025 season was a letdown compared to the year before. But he's still just 26 years old, and the 6'7" 363-pounder has the frame to be an absolute bulldozer."
Becton would be an interesting signing to say the least. After a breakout season with the Philadelphia Eagles back in 2024, Becton signed a two-year free agency deal with the Los Angeles Chargers, where PFF graded him as the 79th guard out of 81 qualified players. He had a 35.7 grade, so he was downright awful.
The Chargers, unsurprisingly, cut ties with Becton, and he's sat on the open market ever since. If Pittsburgh does play on, dipping into the free agency market for some guard help, which does feel possible, you'd think that they could shoot higher than this, perhaps targeting much more solid players like Joel Bitonio or Kevin Zeitler.
Sure, Becton is only set to play in his age-27 season, so he still does have youth on his side, but he's also been in the NFL since 2020 and just has not figured it out, so at this point, this is who Becton might be. In a year where the Steelers clearly want to again go all-in and try to make a deep playoff run, signing Becton wouldn't be in line with their other moves.
Signing Jamel Dean and trading for Michael Pittman Jr. were two stellar moves by General Manager Omar Khan. He needs to have that same energy in finding a starting guard. If the Steelers don't plan to address the position in free agency, they could turn to the 2026Â draft, where there are a slew of starting-caliber guard prospects, including Vega Ioane, Emmanuel Pregnon, Chase Bisontis, and others.