The 2023 NFL preseason is in the books for the Pittsburgh Steelers. After three exciting, although brief, performances from the starters, the exhibition games gave fans a reason to believe some of the offseason hype.
The Steelers have been lauded for their 2023 draft class. The free agency additions were smiled upon too. The roster had some significant turnover, but seeing these additions take shape throughout August on the field of play has been quite encouraging.
As the Steelers prepare to host the San Francisco 49ers to open the regular season campaign, here are five reasons to be excited for the 2023 edition of the franchise.
#5: The Steelers Begin the Season Healthy
It's the number one thing teams across the NFL pray for during training camp and the preseason: stay healthy.
Luckily for the Pittsburgh Steelers, the team is healthy to begin the season. There were some knicks and bruises during training camp, but the projected starters look to all be healthy for Week 1 against San Francisco.
The loss of Cory Trice Jr. is the most significant injury leading into opening weekend as the rookie will miss the entire 2023 season. Hopefully, he'll return in year two with the same intrigue and explosiveness as Calvin Austin III who missed his rookie season last year.
Health can be a fickle commodity in the NFL. But recently, luck has been on the Steelers side. For example, last year the entire starting offensive line started all 17 games together. That is incredibly rare and shouldn't be counted on to happen again. T.J. Watt's injury was the most notable that forced missed time in 2022 while Najee Harris played on an injured foot early in the season. Those injuries were difficult for the Steelers to overcome. Avoiding key injuries like them in 2023 would take a brush of luck, sure, but, would also be a huge boon for the Steelers.
Publicly, there aren't any injuries that will plague starters for the beginning of the season. Remaining healthy is a challenge, but to start this healthy out of the gate is a massive advantage for Pittsburgh.