The Pittsburgh Steelers’ 2021 season is over, already eliminated from the postseason after suffering a 42-21 loss at the hands of Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs. They just barely made the postseason with a 9-7-1 record and a little help from their friends.
This is an offseason of major change, with the retirement of Ben Roethlisberger, the possible retirement of general manager Kevin Colbert, and the decisions about the futures of many important players to be made, such as Joe Haden, Stephon Tuitt, JuJu Smith-Schuster, and others.
Aside from exploring their options at the quarterback position, the top global priority, once again, figures to be addressing the offensive line, which they did not do quite adequately enough a year ago. Dan Moore Jr. looks like he may have a future as a full-time starter, but Kendrick Green was clearly not ready. Chukwuma Okorafor is heading into free agency, as is Trai Turner.
These are the sorts of topics among many others that we have been exploring on a daily basis and will continue to do so. Football has become a year-round pastime and there is always a question to be asked. There is rarely a concrete answer, but this is your venue for exploring the topics we present through all their uncertainty.
Question: Are the Steelers really targeting safety Tyrann Mathieu?
It was reported last week that the Steelers had interest in bringing back fifth-year safety Terrell Edmunds, but also that they were open to exploring veteran alternatives, with Tampa Bay Buccaneers safety Jordan Whitehead being listed as ‘Plan B’.
While Whitehead has signed elsewhere, perhaps the front office did not count on the Kansas City Chiefs deciding to go in another direction at safety, choosing not to re-sign All-Pro Tyrann Mathieu, but rather bringing in Justin Reid.
Former Steelers linebacker Terence Garvin Tweeted last night a possible indication that the Steelers were indeed looking at the ninth-year veteran, simply writing, “Steelers trying land the Bagerr” [sic] with a pair of eye emojis. It is unknown whether or not he was merely speculating or indicating that he is actually aware of something, but needless to say, it has led many to speculate upon his potential speculation.
Steelers trying land the Bagerr 👁👁
— Terence Garvin (@T_Garvin28) March 16, 2022
It is plausible, in theory. The Steelers do have cap space, and they have a hole at safety that they likely have a desire to address in free agency. They know pretty clearly that they’re almost surely not going to be getting any compensatory picks in 2023, as well, so that certainly wouldn’t hold them back.
So is there any truth to the speculation that Pittsburgh is pursuing Mathieau, the three-time first team All-Pro? Technically speaking, he is still 29 years old (he will turn 30 in May). He’s still playing at a high level, with nine interceptions over the past two seasons. And his versatility would be a desired commodity, as well.
On top of that, the market for safeties beyond the top of the food chain may be more affordable than initial appearances indicate—and perhaps he would like to play for Mike Tomlin, Teryl Austin, and Brian Flores. What we do know is he’s not going back to Kansas City.
