Now that the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 2022 season is over, the team finishing above .500 but failing to make the postseason, we turn our attention to the offseason and everything that means. One thing that it means is that some stock evaluations are going to start taking on broader contexts, reflecting on a player’s development, either positively or negatively, over the course of the season. Other evaluations will reflect only one immediate event or trend. The nature of the evaluation, whether short-term or long-term, will be noted in the reasoning section below.
Player: ILB Tanner Muse
Stock Value: Down
Reasoning: The Steelers’ signing of fellow veteran inside linebacker Nick Kwiatkoski adds further competition in the room, and thus makes the path to a spot on the 53-man roster just a little bit harder for Tanner Muse, a special teams linebacker signed earlier this offseason.
First of all, it is very much possible that both Nick Kwiatkoski and Tanner Muse make the 53-man roster. Indeed, it’s rather common for the Steelers to carry five inside linebackers, and right now both of them should be widely regarded as being in the top five at the position.
Then again, there’s no guarantee that they carry that many, especially with it looking equally likely that they could carry five outside linebackers—with one of those outside linebackers being a player they’ve already stated could potentially play inside as well.
On the edge, you lead with T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith, the Steelers having added Markus Golden as the veteran third. After that, the bigger ticket is presumably rookie fourth-round pick Nick Herbig. This is a player they drafted to start on the edge, but both Omar Khan and Andy Weidl volunteered that they view him as inside-capable as well. One wonders if they’ll give him the chance to show that in training camp.
Even assuming that Herbig sticks at outside linebacker, then you have the possibility of somebody like Quincy Roche making the team as a fifth edge defender. Their own 2021 sixth-round pick, he’s made a roundabout trip back to Pittsburgh, and along the way he did pick up the propensity to play special teams, which would help him stick as a fifth edge and ninth linebacker.
That makes things more complicated for Muse, who might find himself as potentially the 10th linebacker, and the 4.5th inside linebacker if they decide to view Herbig as an inside candidate. That’s the ripple effect of the signing of Kwiatkoski.
Of course, the latter is in the same boat. Indeed, Muse would theoretically be in better position, considering he was the one that they signed first. Kwiatkoski has been an unsigned free agent all this time since his last contract expired. He had to try out during veteran minicamp to get a contract. He isn’t guaranteed anything any more than is Muse. But his signing does make Muse’s path just a little bit more complicated.
