The Steelers are now in their offseason after failing to reach the playoffs in 2022, coming up just a game short of sneaking in as the seventh seed. They needed help in week 18 and only got some of it, so instead they sat home and watched the playoffs with the rest of us.
On tap is figuring out how to be on the field in January and February instead of being a spectator. They started out 2-6, digging a hole that proved too deep to dig out of even if they managed to go 7-2 in the second half of the year.
Starting from the end of the regular season and leading all the way up to the beginning of the 2023 season, there are plenty of questions that need answered, starting with who will be the offensive coordinator. Which free agents will be kept? Who might be let go due to their salary? How might they tackle free agency with this new front office? We’ll try to frame the conversation in relevant ways as long as you stick with us throughout this offseason, as we have for many years.
Question: Is another Steelers signing imminent?
The Steelers recently announced the release of first-year safety Scott Nelson via waivers, and did so without making a complementary roster move. That leaves the roster currently at 89, which means that they have room to add another player.
They will eventually, one way or another, I’m sure, but the reality is that there is no part of the offseason in which any team is required to use all 90 roster spots (after all, not so long ago the roster was 80). And the fact is we’re all on a break right now before training camp opens.
In other words, the transaction doesn’t automatically imply that another move is imminent. They could wait all the way until training camp before signing anybody else. After all, they wouldn’t be getting any on-field work in right now.
But they did have (at least) two players, both inside linebackers, in for tryouts during minicamp last week. If any move is imminent, one would assume it would be signing one of Nick Kwiatkoski or Jermaine Carter Jr.
Or they could add another safety to replace Nelson. Or they could do any number of things, of course. Will the 90th roster spot go to Chase Young, or Dalvin Cook? I’m going to go out on a limb and say…of course not.
With that said, a quicker signing is always better than a later one. At least anybody brought in now would have the opportunity to start cracking open the playbook so they could be better equipped to hit the ground running once they finally touch grass in Latrobe.
