Coming out of training camp and the preseason, things look rather promising for the Pittsburgh Steelers entering the 2023 season.
The offense looks to have taken a very clear, real step forward. Kenny Pickett looks like a legitimate franchise quarterback, while Diontae Johnson and George Pickens are set to explode this season. Same with the run game in Pittsburgh with a rebuilt offensive line and a terrific 1-2 punch in Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren.
Defense looks rather strong, too, especially in the front seven. The Steelers have a ton of depth there and a ton of physicality again, which should worry teams moving forward.
There is one area of concern for me looking ahead to the 2023 season though, and it’s not an area many are looking at.
Depth at safety is concerning for me.
Granted, having star Minkah Fitzpatrick and dependable veterans Damontae Kazee and Keanu Neal is a good trio to work with. But the depth behind those three is very concerning overall.
Fitzpatrick is a dependable player in all situations, rarely missing snaps, let alone games. But without the equally dependable and available Terrell Edmunds this season, Pittsburgh is counting on two veterans that have had issues staying healthy in the past.
Kazee is 30 years old and has not played a full season since 2018 in Atlanta. He’s been banged up a bunch with a torn Achilles, a broken forearm last season and various other ailments. Same with Neal, who was signed as a free agent this offseason. Neal has played a full season just twice, though one of those times came last season in a limited role in Tampa Bay.
After those three though, it’s a massive hole on the roster.
Sure, veteran safety Miles Killebrew is experienced, but he’s a special teams piece only at this point in his career. Asking him to do anything defensively is a stretch.
Kenny Robinson had a decent summer overall, but the playmaking abilities he showed in training camp disappeared a bit in preseason games. He is special teams capable and can play both free and strong safety for the Steelers, but he doesn’t elicit much comfort in case of a long-term injury at the position in 2023.
Same for Trenton Thompson. Though he joined the Steelers midway through training camp, Thompson made a lot of plays. He also left a lot of plays on the field, too, from a missed tackles perspective. I don’t think he did enough overall to earn a roster spot.
With all that laid out, the Steelers need to keep an eye on the veteran safety market following roster cutdowns across the league to shore up the depth.
GM Omar Khan and assistant GM Andy Weidl had a tremendous offseason overall for the Steelers, building up depth and competition throughout the roster. They need to be proactive again and plug a hole that’s shown itself throughout the preseason at the safety position.
Worst-case scenario, if Fitzpatrick were to go down with an injury in the regular season that would cause him to miss more than a few games, the Steelers could realistically move Kazee to free safety and insert Neal into the full-time strong safety role. Those two have played together in the NFL before in those roles, so it’s not out of the realm of possibilities.
Chances are though, those two will be nicked up at some point in the season. Depth behind those two — experienced depth — is needed.
Some names are going to become available after cutdowns. Heck, maybe Khan even flips a late-round pick to plug that hole. Fact of the matter is though, he has to plug the hole, period.
Just a few names that come to mind right now of who could become available — these are just a guess — are Arizona’s Andre Chachere, who spent time in Philadelphia under Weidl; Houston’s M.J. Stewart, whom the Steelers are quite familiar with; Seattle’s Joey Blount, whom the Steelers showed interest in leading up to the 2022 NFL Draft; and Philadelphia’s K’Von Wallace, a guy the Steelers had heavy interest in during the 2020 NFL Draft coming out of Clemson.
Those might not be big names, but they are experienced and versatile — two things Pittsburgh needs in a fourth or fifth safety based on the pieces in place currently.
It might not be that big of a concern for many, but it’s a glaring one for me. Depth is key. Go find some additional depth, Omar.
