The Pittsburgh Steelers had a disappointing finish to their 2023 season as they were quickly bounced from the NFL Playoffs with an ugly loss to the Bills in the Wild Card round. Now Omar Khan and the front office enter offseason mode, and you can bet that they will be exploring every avenue to upgrade their roster in 2024.
A quality haul in free agency could help turn the team around rather quickly. Currently, Pittsburgh is over $7 million in the salary cap hole, according to Over the Cap, but there are a few easy roster decisions that could free up plenty of money in no time.
Unlike in years past, the Steelers need to get really aggressive in free agency if they want to land a few difference-makers this offseason. Here are five free agents they should eagerly pursue in March.
Kirk Cousins, QB
It's fairly well known that Kirk Cousins is the biggest name on the market set to enter free agency this year. While there have been reports that Cousins and the Vikings have mutual interest in getting a deal done, per Associated Press writer Rob Maaddi, Cousins has no incentive to sign before he tests the market.
Meanwhile, the Vikings will already be eating substantial dead money well into the future after taking on four void years to the contract he signed in 2022. This could make it hard to stomach yet another Cousins cap number on top of what they are already paying for him.
If Cousins does hit the market, the Steelers should be the first team to enter the bidding war. The veteran quarterback has earned a passer rating of over 103.0 in 4 of the past 5 seasons and has accumulated twice as many years of 100+ passer rating than Ben Roethlisberger had in his 18-year NFL career.
This isn't to argue that Cousins is a better player, but he is incredibly efficient and still on top of his game. He could make the Pittsburgh Steelers a shoo-in for a playoff berth next year and potentially even a true contender in the AFC. Cousins won't come cheap, but if the Steelers only get one free agent move done in March, it should be this one.