2. Re-signing DL Larry Ogunjobi
It's not that I don't want Larry Ogunjobi on the team, but the Steelers paid far more to keep him around than I would have liked. After testing the free agent waters this offseason, Pittsburgh brought Ogunjobi back on a three-year, $28.75 million deal, according to Over the Cap.
This isn't exactly chump change. His average annual earnings of over $9.58 million means that he needs to be a core player for this team. Frankly, I don't really feel confident that Pittsburgh made the right move here.
While a hot defensive tackle market drove up the price on free agent interior defenders, it's unfortunate that the Steelers had to go along with this. Last year, I thought Ogunjobi was just okay (certainly not '$9.5 million per season' good). In terms of statistical production and raw numbers, Ogunjobi managed just 1.5 sacks and 7 tackles for a loss in 16 starts while never forcing a fumble or batting down a ball.
Obviously, we hope the production side of things can improve, but the film last year was just so-so. I don't love handing these types of contracts out to average starters, and Larry Ogunjobi isn't guaranteed to be even that in 2023 and beyond.