Like every other team in the National Football League, the Pittsburgh Steelers are not immune to making mistakes on the roster from time to time. This team has had some bad contracts in the past and with some players, they have been loyal to a fault.
While we should be keeping our focus in the present on the upcoming NFL season, it's not hard to let our minds wander and think about how things could have been different with some other choices the organization could have made. Here are three players the Steelers should not have let go in recent years.
All contract details courtesy of Over the Cap.
Terrell Edmunds was a healthy and reliable asset
There is nothing about Terrell Edmunds' game that makes him an irreplaceable player in the NFL. As a safety, the lack of splash plays is sort of a big deal. At the same time, the price was right to retain the former first-round pick, and the Pittsburgh Steelers elected to pass anyway.
During the 2023 offseason, Edmunds inked a one-year deal with the Philadelphia Eagles worth up to $2 million. This includes a guaranteed salary of just $350,000 and a base salary of just $1.08 million. Despite paying Edmunds backup-type money, the Steelers were not willing to exceed this. This seems like a potentially risky move.
Though Damontae Kazee has flashed in the past, he's an older player who has seen several seasons cut short with major injuries. Keanu Neal has had better luck in terms of health, but his play has not been impressive over the past several years.
Despite excellent healthy throughout his career and being a young, long, athletic defensive back who could have potentially served as a dimebacker or even a coverage linebacker, the Steelers elected to end the Terrell Edmunds experiment. We will have to wait and see how this plays out, but I don't think the Steelers should have let him walk away so easily.