All This Talk of Change…
Photo via the Pittsburgh Steelers Youtube Page
Well, this sucks…there’s no way around that. I think, maybe, my expectations for this team coming into the season were higher than everyone else. So, when that was seemingly coming together in the middle of the season, I was feeling really good about the trajectory of this team, but boy was I just flat out wrong. It has been a long time since since the Steelers have gotten over the proverbial playoff hump, but I don’t want to live in the shit of that fact for any longer than I need to. I’d like to live in the solution, and doing so will make it all that much sweeter when the Steelers overcome this period of mediocrity.
via Over the Cap
The list of Pittsburgh Steelers that are set to become free agents following our early postseason exit is a hefty one. I’m of the mindset that if you’re the Steelers front office, there’s no way you’re satisfied with what your team did in 2024. With that being said, I think it’s pretty safe to move on from most of the names on this lengthy list. Elandon Roberts is an awesome tackler in the middle of the field, and has been excellent against the run during his two seasons with the Steelers. He’s someone that I would like to see back in the black and gold moving forward.
Things get a little murky at the RB spot for the Steelers in 2025. We chose not to exercise Najee Harris’ 5th-year option, so obviously, he will become a free agent. Unfortunately, our change-of-pace guy, Jaylen Warren, is also set to become a free agent, which puts us in a tough situation. As much as I love Najee Harris as a man and a player, I think Jaylen Warren is a better fit for some of the things the Steelers seemingly want to do as an offense under Arthur Smith. If you read my last post, you’d know that I’m not thrilled about the idea of bringing him back as OC for another year, even though I think it is what will happen. Naj embodies what a Pittsburgh Steelers running back is and looks like to me, so it will hurt to see him go(assuming we go that route), but I think he’ll thrive in a different environment that knows how to utilize his skill set.
Obviously, when you think about potentially significant changes that could come this offseason, the quarterback position is one of the first things that comes to mind. Throughout the entirety of the Justin Fields-Russell Wilson era, I have been consistent in my opinion that Wilson gives you the higher floor, and Fields gives you the higher ceiling. To me, Russell Wilson was never going to be our QB beyond this season, and he certainly didn’t do anything to suggest that the team should feel otherwise. I appreciate the man and leader that he is, and the peaks were high and fun to watch, but I think the team should move on from him and let him hit the market. Justin Fields has now had an opportunity to spend ⅔ of the season behind a Super Bowl winning QB whose play style, at least in his prime, somewhat mimics a lot of the things Justin Fields likes to do. For Fields, he has to know that his chances to be a starter in this league for years to come are going to dwindle away if he can’t put together a productive winning season, and the Steelers find themselves in a spot, yet again, where they need a bridge QB. Justin Fields is only 25 years old, and his best football could very well be ahead of him. I think in 2025, he should be QB1 coming into the season, and you better pull out the damn checkbook and get him some weapons on offense.
Outside of Roberts, Warren, and Fields, there’s just not a whole lot of names left on the impending free agents list that I find imperative to our success moving forward. WR Ben Skowronek is somebody that I think is worth bringing back, although I wouldn’t consider it something to be of significant importance. His impact, both as a blocker and on special teams, go beyond the box score, and he’s just a good kind of player to have in your locker room. S Damontae Kazee is somebody that’s probably on his way out the door, but I love his reputation as a hard hitter and a tackler. Sometimes that aggression gets him in trouble in coverage, but I wouldn’t mind him back for safety depth. Between Nate Herbig, James Daniels, and Max Scharping, we’re losing a lot from the guard spot(s). I could see us trying to bring back one of those guys, because of the lack of depth that would exist at guard if we didn’t bring any of them back. However, after a bad year (in my opinion) from Isaac Seumalo, and James Daniels getting hurt following a rough start to the year, maybe the team will look to continue to build the o-line in the draft. There have been rumors that the Steelers and Donte Jackson have mutual interest in another contract, which…whatever I guess, but they better be looking to add another physical corner in the draft, or we will continue to get torched in our secondary next season.
So, as I see it, the team’s biggest needs this offseason (right now) are: WR, DL, CB, QB, OG, and RB. Trust me, I know that it’s hard to care about these kinds of things just days removed from getting our asses kicked in the wild card round of the playoffs yet again. It sucks. Let’s use our imagination together for a second, though. Imagine, for just a quick second, that before the 2025 NFL Draft, the Steelers re-signed Jaylen Warren and Justin Fields, and then went out and got somebody like Chris Godwin, who is someone that is set to become a free agent and that the Steelers can afford. Wouldn’t you suddenly feel a little better about the offense going into next season? And, those are things that can and should happen before the 2025 NFL Draft. Justin Fields is more than likely not the long-term answer at QB, but a core like that would give me the most hope for success in 2025.
One thing that SHOULD be happening, like, right now, immediately, as we speak, fucking YESTERDAY…. is a major shakeup of the coaching staff. I’ve already said that I don’t think Mike Tomlin is going anywhere, but there should be significant moves on both sides of the ball, and maybe in the strength and conditioning staff (because what the hell was with all those soft tissue injuries at the end of the year?). I hate to call for specific names, but offensive line coach Pat Meyer is one of the first names that comes to mind. The o-line seemed to regress, to me, as the season waned, and Dan Moore Jr. and Broderick Jones both pulling on that play against the Ravens in the playoffs should’ve been the nail in Meyer’s proverbial coffin. We’ve got a pretty young offensive line, so let’s get someone in there that’s going to truly help us get the most out of what figures to be a solid group in the coming year(s).
Another name that should be on their way out the door, in my opinion, is defensive coordinator Teryl Austin, whose unit regressed from last season despite adding SIGNIFICANT pieces including, but not limited to, DeShon Elliot and Patrick Queen. No doubt, Mike Tomlin’s fingerprints are all over this defense, which is something that also needs to change, but if he’s not going anywhere we need to at least get another defensive guru with a headset, and Teryl Austin just isn’t that guy to me, unfortunately. It’s still such a damn shame to me that we had Brian Flores in the building on our defensive staff, and we let him get away. Flores just came off a great year as defensive coordinator of the Minnesota Vikings. Imagine what a mind like his could do with the talent on the Steelers defense. Too often this season, our highest-paid defense crumbled in the biggest moments, and you can’t run it back with the same staff. It would be criminal. In the case of both Pat Meyer and Teryl Austin, I find it criminal that I’m finishing this post up on Sunday morning, and they still both have jobs. Again, I feel horrible naming specific guys that I think need to go, and they’re CERTAINLY not the only ones…but the talk of change by the Steelers every year seem like empty words when seemingly no one is being held accountable for their shortcomings to the degree that they would be in other organizations. Alas, we are only a week removed from our early exit from the playoffs so I will continue to await the alleged changes with patience.
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