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 sides 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: Terrell Edmunds wanted a fresh start in another organization after five years in Pittsburgh.
Explanation: A former first-round pick who weathered criticism of being overdrafted from the moment his name was announced, Terrell Edmunds’ draft pedigree has impaired objective analysis of his play. The past two offseasons have indicated that the Steelers were in no way dedicated to keeping him around long-term, and the modest deal he signed with the Philadelphia Eagles could also be a reflection of that.
Buy:
I think Terrell Edmunds made a revealing comment in his first press conference as an Eagle. “All old narratives can change now because you’re in a new spot”, he said. “You got a chance to make a new impression”.
The impression he left in Pittsburgh was rarely a positive one because he never made splash plays with the regularity that you would associate with a first-round pick. While that was keenly felt from the fans, there was no doubt an expectation from the organization that they would get more from him as well.
That’s why the Steelers allowed him to test the market to its fullest extent for the past two years. Had they valued him, it seems they could have somewhat easily retained him on still modest terms. But they were willing to let him go, and so he went, hoping to find a place where he could begin with a clean slate.
Sell:
In the same press conference, he also talked about “five great seasons with the Steelers” and the “great teammates, great coaches, great culture over there”. If these are platitudes, so is his remark about old narratives—just things you say when you change cities professionally.
More likely, it seems the Steelers didn’t leave Edmunds with a great deal of choice about coming back. They signed his presumed backup, Damontae Kazee, to more money than he got from the Eagles, and undoubtedly more than they were willing to offer.
They likely only offered him, if anything, the same deal as last year with a discounted cap hit. And they may now have given that to tight end Zach Gentry instead. Or perhaps they tried to split their allowed compensation between the two, and Edmunds knew he couldn’t go backward. That’s assuming they offered him a deal at all.
