The Pittsburgh Steelers already had a challenge ahead of them. In their first game of the 2024 season, Mike Tomlin's team will travel to Atlanta in an effort to take down Kirk Cousins and the Falcons. Now things just got trickier.
The Falcons aren't sitting on their hands. in the weeks leading up to their kickoff game against the Steelers, Atlanta's front office is making splash moves for high-profile players.
On August 14, the Falcons sent a third-round pick to the New England Patriots in exchange for edge rusher Matt Judon. One day later, Atlanta filled another major roster hole by signing Pro Bowl safety Justin Simmons, per NFL Network's Ian Rapoport.
Former #Broncos perennial Pro Bowl S Justin Simmons is signing with the #Falcons. The top free agent visited ATL and the #Saints.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) August 15, 2024
He lands with the #Falcons on a 1-year contract worth $8M — with $7.5M fully guaranteed— in a deal done by Todd France of @AthletesFirst. pic.twitter.com/kGJ9urVSQt
With just a few weeks to get acclimated to their new teams, it's hard to gauge the impact of Atlanta's latest additions. However, there's no question that Judon and Simmons make this defense a whole lot tougher.
Judon earned four consecutive Pro Bowls from 2019 to 2022. The fiery pass rusher was a Defensive Player of the Year candidate in 2022 when he recorded 15.5 sacks and 28 quarterback hits. Judon played just four games in 2023 before the Patriots shut down his season with an injury.
Meanwhile, Simmons is coming off a Pro Bowl season. The former Denver Broncos safety recorded three interceptions last season and was voted Second-Team All-Pro for the fourth time. Simmons joins All-Pro safety Jessie Bates in the secondary. Simmons and Bates rank first and second, respectively, with the most combined interceptions and forced incompletions in the NFL since 2019.
Steelers have a daunting task in Week 1 against the Falcons
Though Matt Judon and Justin Simmons are both in their early 30s now, there's no reason to expect they won't be excellent players in 2024. This presents an unforeseen challenge to the Pittsburgh Steelers in the season opener.
After already having to worry about shaking the rust off and keeping the ball away from Jessie Bates, the Falcons added one of the best ballhawks of this generation as well as a pass rusher who can generate quick pressure on the quarterback.
The Steelers will look to find their sea legs in a hurry with a new offensive coordinator, new quarterback, new starting receiver alongside George Pickens, and new starters on the offensive line. Considering how hard their schedule is late in the season, dropping their season opener would be less than ideal.
Pittsburgh opens the 2024 season with three of its first four contests on the road. The Atlanta Falcons are taking preemptive measures to ensure their team starts off strong, and the Steelers should do the same.