The Pittsburgh Steelers have been very active in free agency, bringing in veterans on defense and offense. Former quarterback Ben Roethlisberger thinks they should add more veterans on offense.
Today on his Footbahlin’ podcast, Roethlisberger talked about how the offense could benefit from more veterans, specifically at wide receiver.
“I still think it’d be good, I still think they could, adding a veteran wide receiver, a veteran lineman are always super valuable, which they did, those are veteran guys they brought in,” said Roethlisberger. “…tight ends, running backs, wide receivers, especially wide receivers. You get a veteran wide receiver, especially with the wide receivers they have here, you got Diontae [Johnson] another year. You’ve got some really good guys that can benefit probably from having a veteran guy in there.”
As Roethlisberger mentioned, the Steelers added veteran guards Nate Herbig and Isaac Seumalo. The Steelers offensive line is now a little bit older than it was last year with four out of the five starters (sorry Dan Moore Jr.) on their second or third contract.
However, the Steelers don’t have that experience at wide receiver, and that is why Roethlisberger suggests that is an area to add a veteran. Among Johnson, Pickens, and Calvin Austin III, only Johnson is on his second contract. A veteran would be very helpful to show the young receivers the ropes and how to deal with adversity.
Specifically, Pittsburgh needs a slot receiver. Austin is an unknown given that he has never suited up for a game after missing all of 2022 with a football injury. While the team has Gunner Olszewski and Anthony Miller on the roster right now, neither of them has the snaps and playing time that would make them clear-cut contributors.
A JuJu Smith-Schuster-type player who can play a big slot role would be ideal, but obviously Smith-Schuster is a New England Patriot and off the market. A veteran who can play the slot and has been around the league would be perfect for this young receivers corps.
Roethlisberger is right that this offense could use more veterans. If general manager Omar Khan can add a veteran to the wide receivers room, he can cap off his first offseason in charge as a resounding success. So far, he has done great, but there is still some room to improve the team. Roethlisberger hit the nail on the head of where that improvement could and should be.
