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: Should the Steelers offer Pittsburgh Maulers linebacker Reuben Foster a contract?
It seems every year since the AAF formed the Steelers have been active in obtaining players from these alternative professional leagues. Former general manager Kevin Colbert reasoned that many of these athletes are the sorts of players they would have signed to Reserve/Future deals at the end of the prior season had they not been under contract with other leagues.
While their roster is already at 90, it’s never static, always open to change, and it seems reasonably likely that they will be scouring the USFL for potential additions as they head into training camp. Now that the season is over, players from that league should be eligible shortly to sign NFL contracts.
The most notable player they picked up from the XFL’s 2023 season roster was wide receiver Hakeem Butler, a former NFL fourth-round draft pick who led the league in receiving touchdowns and ranked in the top two or three in receptions and yards as well.
Former Steelers linebacker Vince Williams suggested yesterday that he can see Pittsburgh Maulers linebacker Reuben Foster lining up for the other Pittsburgh team soon. Presumably, he has no insider information here, but the Steelers have been turning over quite a few leaves to address the position. Foster has been regarded as one of the best inside linebackers in the USFL in 2023.
A former first-round draft pick out of Alabama and still 29 years old, Foster ruined his NFL career largely due to a series of legal issues, including multiple arrests. Some were for violent offenses, though some were later said to be fabricated, others later dropped.
Still, that combined with internal issues he had with his teams, particularly the San Francisco 49ers who drafted him, resulted in his NFL career terminating after just parts of two seasons. His participation in the USFL in the past several weeks was his first activity in professional football since 2020. He did have a couple of workouts last year but did not sign with either team.
