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: Will all of the veteran inside linebackers the Steelers signed this offseason make the 53-man roster?
In a rare move, at least in Pittsburgh, the Steelers almost entirely turned over the inside linebacker position this offseason, parting with five players who were on the 53-man roster or injured reserve at the end of last season. They’ve since retained one player and signed four as veteran free agents with significant experience.
The question is, will all of them be on the 53-man roster come September? Obviously, they signed Cole Holcomb and Elandon Roberts to multi-year contracts with the intention of them being starters, and they probably will be. But what about the other two?
Those would be Tanner Muse, an earlier signing, and Nick Kwiatkoski, who was only added to the 90-man offseason roster earlier this week. Muse is more of a career special teams player, while Kwiatkoski, entering the latter stages of his career, has dozens of starts under his belt—even if he’s played little defensively the past two years.
Four inside linebackers on the 53-man roster is a safe bet. Five is pretty common, but not guaranteed, and requires someone worthy of the roster spot. So if we assume that Mark Robinson is going to make the team—and I think that we can—that leaves either three or four likely spots taken.
If it comes down to Muse and Kwiatkoski, who has the edge? The latter is more experienced, but the former is more of a replacement for the special teamers lost like Marcus Allen. Of course, both are capable of contributing on special teams while harboring desires to play on defense, because what defender doesn’t? Both are former mid-round picks, so pedigree isn’t relevant.
