Hey Steelers Fans. Welcome to Monday.
The Kickoff
Tamper away NFL teams!! It’s totally legal, you know? For the next 48 you’re allowed to talk with and negotiate with free agents. I mean, not that most of you haven’t been doing this already right? Blasphemy!! You say? Hardly. But we’ll go ahead and pretend everyone plays by the rules just like they did in the days before “legal tampering” existed. Here’s where I roll my eyes from one side of my head to the other… Legal? Illegal? Who cares? The 2026 league year may kick off on Wednesday but as far as I’m concerned today is the day so have at it!
Early Steelers Free Agent Thoughts
There was a time when most of us didn’t even bother with the early hours of free agency because the Steelers were rarely players. They would wait until this big name and big contract guys were gone and then swoop in to grab those second and third tier players. They’ve shown to be a bit more aggressive in recent years and we’ll see if that continues today with roughly $45 million in cap space. I tend to believe wide receiver will be a top target but I think Alec Pierce will be too expensive. Depth on both lines will be near the top of the list as will cornerback and safety. Here are some names I’m told to be watching (Catch up here with Ian’s Free Agent Primer)… WR Jauan Jennings, S Koby Bryant, S Bryan Cook, CB Josh Jobe. Keep in mind there are also trade possibilities as well especially with the Steelers having 12 draft picks.
CB Depth
The Steelers have already announced the signing of Cornerback Asante Samuel, Jr. He remains with the Steelers on a one-year deal worth four million.
Tua Out in MIA
The Dolphins have chosen to cut QB Tua Tagovailoa with a post June 1st designation. They will take on a record $99 million in dead money over the next two seasons. One thing I wonder is whether this will slow teams down in terms of these wild QB salaries. My first thought is “no” but I can hope. And no, I don’t want anything to do with him in Pittsburgh.
Queen
One guy that has been talked about a lot during the off-season is Patrick Queen. The effort is always there with him but so too are a lot of missed tackles. I haven’t heard anything but we also have no idea how the new staff feels about him either. I think he’s back in 2026.
Settle Down
I totally get it. Steelers’ fans see the Ravens make a big move for Maxx Crosby and then wonder why we are putting our eggs into the basket of a soon to be 43 year old quarterback. Baltimore is to be credited with being aggressive here. They know their defense struggled last year especially in regards to the pass rush so they went out and addressed it. You could argue the Steelers did the same thing last season when they obtained D.K. Metcalf. With a boatload of picks, could the Steelers do something similar this year? Sure! So far I haven’t seen anything to my liking yet. We all need to take a breath. Games are still won on the field, not in March trades.
Random Reads
Remember when the Steelers drafted Kenny Pickett? Another guy still on the board at the time was CB Trent McDuffie. He just became the game’s highest-paid CB in Los Angeles… Keep an eye on Buffalo this week. They are about $12 million over the cap and have already cut Taylor Rapp and Curtis Samuel. They’ll need to do some work on other contracts… I’m very curious to see what the Steelers do at tight end. Are they happy moving forward with Darnell Washington and Pat Freiermuth or will they add a dynamic third TE? My guess is that they add a blocking type of guy… I saw a report that links us with Joe Flacco if Aaron Rodgers doesn’t work out. Apparently starting in Pittsburgh means you need an AARP card… FB Alex Ingold has signed with the LAC. I kind of thought he might be a target of the Steelers as Mike McCarthy does like a traditional fullback in his offense.
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