Two down, two to go. The Pittsburgh Steelers have been busy over the past several weeks—locking up edge rusher Nick Herbig and tight end Darnell Washington to massive multi-year contract extensions. But there are still two impressive players from the 2023 draft class who need long-term deals: Joey Porter Jr. and Keeanu Benton.
The latter is the least talked about in the group. Benton, the Steelers' 49th overall pick from the 2023 NFL Draft, flashed at times early in his NFL career, but didn't start putting up numbers until his third season in 2025.
Though Benton struggled to anchor against the run at times this past season, he flashed his pass-rush ability, earning 5.5 sacks, six tackles for a loss, 12 quarterback hits, and a forced fumble. Benton's 74.5 pass rush grade was good for 19th in the NFL in 2025, via Pro Football Focus.
Because of the promise the 24-year-old has shown, the Steelers will want to get him locked up to a long-term deal.
Unfortunately, two overpaid NFL players may have already screwed the Steelers in their pursuit of signing Benton to an extension: Milton Williams and Jordan Davis.
The Pittsburgh Steelers may be forced to overpay to keep Keeanu Benton around on an extension
Last offseason, Williams hit the free agent market. The former Philadelphia Eagle turned heads when he broke the bank with a massive four-year, $104 million contract extension with $51 million in total guarantees. This came despite playing a part-time role and putting up pedestrian numbers in his first four seasons.
Despite missing just one game in his first four seasons with the Eagles, Williams started just 19 of 67 games. Over his first four seasons, Williams never had more than 5.0 sacks in a season while never exceeding 10 quarterback hits. He also never played more than 48 percent of defensive snaps for the Eagles.
But even with his part-time role, the young defensive tackle quickly earned $26 million per year on the free agent market.
Then Jordan Davis raked in a bag of cash this offseason. One year after losing Williams to the Patriots in free agency, the Eagles paid Davis $26 million per year to stick around. Davis is known for being a big-bodied run defender. But in terms of pass rush production, he recorded just eight sacks, 15 tackles for a loss, and 12 quarterback hits combined in his first four seasons before being paid as a top-five defensive tackle in the NFL.
Meanwhile, Benton has been playing out of position as a 3-4 nose tackle for Pittsburgh. And despite his ups and downs, he's managed 7.5 sacks, 9 tackles for a loss, and a whopping 28 quarterback hits in just three seasons in a part-time role.
Based on his production and youth, Spotrac has Benton projected to earn $26 million per year on his next contract (thanks a lot, Williams and Davis).
While there's no guarantee Benton will hit these numbers based on his production and performance, it's what his agency will be pushing for. At the same time, the Steelers can't afford to let Benton walk away in free agency, especially if he proves to be Cam Heyward's last season.
Entering his age-25 season, Benton could be the future at defensive tackle in Pittsburgh alongside 2025 first-round pick Derrick Harmon. If the Steelers let Benton walk and if Heyward retires after 2026, they would be forced to rebuild their defensive tackle room from the ground up next offseason.
Meanwhile, there are only a few dozen good defensive tackles in the entire NFL right now. And if we project forward, a young Benton, playing under a new defensive coordinator in a new role, could be much better on his second contract. If they let him play out the 2026 season, they may not be able to afford to bring him back (and he would have no incentive not to test the market at that point).
The fact of the matter is that the Pittsburgh Steelers may very well need to overpay to keep Keeanu Benton around for the foreseeable future, and they can thank Milton Williams and Jordan Davis for breaking the defensive line market.
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