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: Why would Dalvin Cook want to sign with the Steelers?
Alright, so let’s have the discussion. Now that former Minnesota Vikings running back Dalvin Cook is a free agent following his release, he can sign with any team that he wants. In theory, any team should be interested in him. He’s absolutely better than at least one running back on every roster who would be making the 53.
But why would Cook be interested in the Pittsburgh Steelers, specifically? It’s not like they’re going to pay him the sort of price they would be willing to sign him for. How many teams pay multiple running backs, for starters? Now, they’re not currently paying out the nose for Najee Harris, but they’re invested in him.
And they’re not going to put Harris on the sideline to run Cook, especially when they are already trying to figure out how to get Jaylen Warren on the field. Now, would Cook pass Warren on the depth chart? Obviously. Could you make a superb argument that Cook is better than Harris, and in an objective world should start over him? Yeah, you could.
But we know that’s not going to happen. So the simple question becomes, why would Cook want to sign with the Steelers, a team that would not be in the position to pay him like a starter or to give him a starter’s workload?
Pittsburgh is not a Super Bowl favorite in 2023 or anything. While there is good reason to believe in their improvement, you won’t find many people predicting a Lombardi for them this year. The only tiny sliver of wiggle room is the fact that the Vikings will still be paying Cook $2 million this year. That’s a little bit of a cushion, but why wouldn’t he be looking for a better opportunity? Go to a team that will set him up to cash in during free agency in 2024. That’s not Pittsburgh.
