Steelers’ offseason direction depends on quarterback
By Dale Lolley
For the Observer-Reporter
newsroom@observer-reporter.com
INDIANAPOLIS – The NFL’s new league year begins March 12, but with the legal tampering period in which teams can negotiate new contracts with pending free agents two days before free agency begins, we’re actually just over a week away from things getting really interesting for the Steelers.
General manager Omar Khan said Tuesday at the NFL Scouting Combine that the team has had contract talks with the agents for both Russell Wilson and Justin Fields in the hopes of getting something done before free agency begins.That means the clock is ticking.
“Until we get one of those guys, or two of those guys, or some combination of them, signed up, all options are on the table,” Khan said. “I had conversations with both Russ’ people and Justin’s representatives and, with that, we’ll see where it goes.”
Which quarterback re-signs with the Steelers – or if it is another player altogether – will determine how the Steelers attack the rest of the offseason.
Wilson and Fields have different skill sets. So, too, would any other quarterback the Steelers sign or trade for this offseason.
And that would greatly affect things such as available cap space, who the team needs in terms of weapons and even the offensive scheme.
“Who you sign impacts the type of receiver you may go after, or how you build the rest of the team,” Khan said. “So, all of that has an effect.”
Currently, the Steelers are in great shape in terms of the salary cap. Per Overthecap.com, the Steelers have around $60 million in cap space with the ability to also create additional space if the need arises.
That’s a good position to be in.
But so much of the process starts with the quarterback.
Despite what some might think, the Steelers are in a good spot – except for the quarterback position. That’s certainly the most important position on the team, but the rest of the roster is pretty solid.
And the Steelers will get an opportunity to add to that roster. They don’t, and never will, look at any season as a rebuilding situation. They look at every situation as continuing to build.
There is a difference.
“We know we weren’t good enough down the stretch,” Khan said. “But fortunately, we have the resources from a cap standpoint to address maybe in free agency, and there’s maybe some trade candidates out there. And the draft.”
That all begins in a little more than a week. And the lynchpin is what they do at quarterback.
• Wide receiver is one area the Steelers have been trying to improve for more than a year. They were linked to every wide receiver who became available last offseason and even into the season but wound up having to settle for acquiring Mike Williams at the trade deadline.
That didn’t exactly work out.
But one player many people have written off – the Steelers have not – is 2024 third-round pick Roman Wilson.
Because of injuries, Wilson appeared in just one game last season.
He returned late in the season and began practicing, but the Steelers were ousted from the playoffs before he was placed back on the active roster.
“He would have been available to help us in the playoffs if we had needed him,” Khan said.
That wasn’t the case for first-round offensive tackle Troy Fautanu. He started one game last season before suffering a knee injury that ended his year.
The Steelers also will get him back in 2025.
Per NFL.com’s draft rankings from a year ago, Fautanu had a grade of 6.47. Wilson’s grade was 6.30.
Matching those grades with the site’s rankings from this year, Fautanu would be the top-ranked offensive lineman in this draft. Wilson would be a top-10 wide receiver.
Getting those two players back in 2025 will be like having two additional very high draft picks.
• The plan is to have 2023 first-round draft pick Broderick Jones move to left tackle and Fautanu play right tackle.
That doesn’t mean the Steelers won’t add another veteran swing tackle or even a young offensive tackle later in the draft, but they’ll give their two first-round draft picks every opportunity to hold down those jobs.
• The early bet on where the Steelers go in the first round of the draft this year is on the defensive line. They’ve spent back-to-back first-round picks on the offensive line. Now, it’s time to add on the defensive line.
And this is an outstanding draft for defensive linemen.
Dale Lolley hosts The Drive on Steelers Nation Radio and writes a Sunday column for the Observer-Reporter.