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: What do you want to hear from Kevin Colbert on day one of the Combine?
I usually ask some variation of this question every year—when I remember to—but ordinarily I ask the question, what do you expect to hear? I want to do it a little differently this time. Now I want to know what you want to hear, specifically what you want Colbert to address, though inevitably we’ll also get into the territory of what you actually want him to say territory.
I certainly would like to get some actual clarity on Stephon Tuitt’s situation, but I think we can safely predict that that’s not going to happen. From comments made in the recent past, it hardly sounds like the two sides have even been in contact much.
Of course I’d love to know what their plans are regarding their own free agents, particularly the offensive linemen and the defensive backs. I also want to know how seriously they’re considering free agent alternatives at the positions these guys play.
One thing we can pretty much guarantee is that the Steelers are going to address almost every hole they have on the roster during free agency, because that’s what they always do. They might not be the most attractive options, but they’ll give themselves veterans at positions of need, like when they signed Jon Bostic, undoubtedly hoping to land an inside linebacker in the first round.
Oh, and I want to know where he’s going to be in February of 2023. Is he still going to be an employee of the Pittsburgh Steelers, and if so, is it going to be anything more than an honorary title, or will he still be putting actual work in?
