The Pittsburgh Steelers have 18 players set to hit free agency after they went 10-7 and reached the AFC Wild Card Round before losing to the Buffalo Bills.
Of those players, not a single one landed inside Pro Football Focus’ top 150 free agents Friday from Brad Spielberger.
That includes the likes of quarterback Mason Rudolph and special teams ace Miles Killebrew.
Rudolph, who took over as the starting quarterback in Week 16 against the Cincinnati Bengals, led the Steelers to three straight wins down the stretch, helping Pittsburgh get into the playoffs.
After surprisingly signing with the Steelers in the middle of May after seemingly having no chance of ever returning to Pittsburgh after being the third quarterback on the depth chart in 2022, Rudolph again resumed the QB3 role for the Steelers and didn’t see the field. All that changed after Kenny Pickett went down with an ankle injury in Week 13 against the Arizona Cardinals, forcing backup quarterback Mitch Trubisky into the lineup.
Trubisky wasn’t good enough and turned the ball over far too much, leading to the Steelers making a change after three straight losses.
Despite not starting a game in more than two years, Rudolph was ready for the opportunity, stepped up to the plate and took advantage. Down the stretch, Rudolph threw for 719 yards and three touchdowns in the regular season and then threw for 229 yards, two touchdowns and an interception in the Wild Card loss to the Bills.
He completed 74% of his passes and really took advantage of pushing the ball down the field to the likes of Diontae Johnson and George Pickens, leading to the Steelers scoring 30 or more points in two straight games late in the season.
Though he had a strong performance down the stretch, PFF didn’t include him in its top 150 free agents. At the quarterback position, veteran Kirk Cousins (No. 2), Ryan Tannehill (No. 68), Baker Mayfield (No.75), Gardner Minshew II (No. 91), Jacoby Brissett (No. 126) and Jameis Winston (No. 130) were the only quarterbacks to crack the list for PFF.
Rudolph earned $1.080 million this season from the Steelers and carried a cap hit of $940K. He is likely going to receive a sizable raise this offseason, which could come in Pittsburgh after Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin stated that the desire of the franchise is to re-sign Rudolph.
As for Killebrew, he earned an Associated Press first-team All-Pro accolade this season after blocking two punts and being a stalwart on special teams for the Steelers. He also earned a nod to the Pro Bowl, but he received no love from PFF in its top 150 free agent rankings at the safety position.
Sixteen safeties cracked the top-150 list, but Killebrew was not one of them. He’s not just a special teams piece, either. With injuries hampering the Steelers at the safety position late in the year, Killebrew filled in and played well. He graded out at a 64.1 overall from PFF defensively, including a 72.4 against the run in 111 snaps.
Outside of Rudolph and Killebrew, names like Markus Golden, Armon Watts, Blake Martinez, Chandon Sullivan, Levi Wallace, Kwon Alexander, Levi Wallace and Montravius Adams highlight the 18 Steelers set to hit free agency this offseason.
