With the Steelers’ 2023 offseason underway following a disappointing season that came up just short of reaching the playoffs, it’s time to begin reloading, through the free agency process, through the draft, and perhaps even through trade.
This is now a young team on the offensive side of the ball, though one getting older on defense. Both could stand to be supplemented robustly, including in the trenches—either one. Changes have been made to the coaching staff, even if not all of the desired ones, as the roster continues to renew with the weeks ticking by.
These sorts of uncertainties are what I will look to address in our Buy or Sell series. In each installment, I will introduce a topic statement and weigh some of the arguments for either buying it (meaning that you agree with it or expect it to be true) or selling it (meaning you disagree with it or expect it to be false).
Topic Statement: Kevin Dotson will be on the 53-man roster.
Explanation: While it’s a long way off yet, the Steelers’ offseason additions of two guards along the offensive line complicates Kevin Dotson’s immediate future employment. His elevated salary of $2,743,000 as a likely backup at best does not help nor does his limitations as a guard-only interior lineman.
Buy:
You don’t easily let a starter go, and you do your best to keep the best of what you have in each position group. Kevin Dotson could easily be one of the nine best linemen the Steelers have on their 90-man roster when all is said and done, and that will obviously play in his favor.
For all we know, the team might have aspirations of moving James Daniels to center, in which case Mason Cole, Nate Herbig, and Dotson could compete for the starting right guard job, where Dotson is more comfortable playing.
Herbig is no better than Dotson is, quite frankly, not when he’s playing his best. Dotson played a lot better after the bye week, beginning to look like he did his rookie season as a pass protector, and there’s still meat on the bone as a run blocker.
Sell:
There may not have ever been a roster in history that included the precise 53 best players a team had. Because you can’t make a roster without taking roles into consideration. Dotson may be one of the nine best linemen, but he’s also among the least flexible and most expendable as a result.
What the Steelers really need is another natural center as a reserve, and I think they will add that. That would all but end Dotson’s roster hopes, with the four reserves consisting of a rookie tackle, Herbig, Le’Raven Clark, and said center-capable interior lineman.
Due to his position inflexibility, even if he were to make the team, Dotson would likely be a gameday inactive. You don’t want to pay somebody $2,743,000 to be inactive. The best-case scenario would be for the Steelers to get anything for him via trade, even if it’s swapping late-round picks three years from now.
