The Pittsburgh Steelers made a splash Tuesday, reportedly agreeing to a two-year contract with jack-of-all-trades Cordarelle Patterson yesterday, one of the best kick returners in NFL history, right after the hybrid kickoff rule passed for 2024. To Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio, it’s a move that shows just how all-in the Steelers are for 2024.
“Jerry Jones talks about going all-in, Pittsburgh Steelers, going all-in. And this is gonna be a pivotal part of the game now, and the first move the Steelers do right out of the gates is they go out and get themselves one of the best return specialists that ever lived,” Florio said on PFT Live today.
The Steelers aren’t messing around this offseason. From recognizing their mistake with Kenny Pickett and upgrading the quarterback room to signing the richest free agent in team history with Patrick Queen, the Steelers are showing just how sick and tired they are of losing early in the playoffs. Winning seasons aren’t enough, and the Steelers need to start having consistent success in the postseason, which they obviously haven’t had as they haven’t won a playoff game since 2016.
Outside of the obvious upgrades with Queen, Russell Wilson and Justin Fields, the Steelers are putting themselves in a position to be a well-rounded team and helping themselves win the field position battle with the signings of Patterson and punter Cameron Johnston. Florio pointed out that winning on the margins with field position is a good way for teams to keep up with teams that have elite quarterback play, and while the Steelers upgraded their room, Wilson (or Fields) aren’t on the same level currently as a Patrick Mahomes, Joe Burrow or Josh Allen.
There are still a lot of holes to fill before fully saying that the Steelers will be able to compete with the top of the AFC and be a legitimate contender, as they badly need a center and another receiver alongside George Pickens. They could also look to upgrade offensive tackle and add more depth defensively, but the Patterson signing was a clear message that the Steelers are going to look to do whatever it takes to upgrade where they can. They didn’t sit on their hands or try to rely on someone like Calvin Austin III as their kick returner in a year where returns are now important and instead went out and brought in probably the best returner available.
We’ll see if the Steelers can continue to build out the rest of their roster in a way that will make them a serious Super Bowl contender, but it’s been an awesome start to the offseason so far.
