Recapping Steelers busy (yet somewhat mundane) first week of free agency

When Kevin Colbert retired following the 2022 draft and when it was announced that Omar Khan would be promoted to General Manager, I was interested in seeing how Khan and the front office would approach free agency. I go back to the 1970s so I witnessed firsthand how we approached the advent of free agency. We were never what I would label as 'big spenders'.

Having said that, it is refreshing to know that the Steelers are not an organization that throws money at free agents 'willy nilly'. We never have been and I would offer that we never will be. I think our approach is tactical in nature, but sometimes, you have to just make a 'splash' signing. So who was the 'splash' signing thus far in free agency?

Steelers had a busy first week of free agency

So, let's get into it right now. How did we fare during the first week of free agency? You can answer that question for yourself, but I will answer it this way: I think the moves we made were somewhat underwhelming on their surface, but only time will tell how fruitful they will become. I think the first order of business was to re-sign Larry Ogunjobi and that is exactly what we did, thankfully.

Honestly, after the performance Ogunjobi turned in during the 2022 campaign, I was concerned that the Steelers would not be able to re-sign him. I understand the rationale behind signing a free agent to a one-year deal, but the inherent danger in doing that is that if the player outperforms expectations, it becomes more difficult to re-sign the said player. Again, thankfully that was not the case.

I also think the re-signing of Damontae Kazee was vitally important to the operation, so to speak, considering our predilection in deploying three safety packages on defense. We sure do seem to love that 'Buffalo' or 'Big Nickel' look. We also added two linebackers and a cornerback to the fold.

Speaking of which, we signed Patrick Peterson who will ostensibly replace Cameron Sutton, who we lost to the Detroit Lions. According to Peterson, he can 'do it all' but he will turn thirty-three years old in July. So how will the Steelers utilize his skill set? That remains to be seen, but I truly hope that when Mike Tomlin says, 'If you have red paint, you paint the barn red', he meant it.

At this stage in his career, Peterson is no longer solely a 'man-to-man' corner, but considering we like to call 'man-to-man' quite a bit, that may prove to be a disaster. As I said, painting the barn red would mean that we would call more zone or a mix of man with zone underneath or over the top.

So, let's recap. Who has been the 'splash' signing of the first week of free agency? Everyone we signed or no one we signed? Of course, we could someone else by the time you jump into this discussion, but, as we sit here right now, I would offer that the first week of free agency went exactly as it has always gone, meaning it has been business as usual for the Steelers.