Are the Steelers done with Eric Rowe and Myles Jack?
Contrary to people who should know better, Eric Rowe and Myles Jack are free agents now. They have been free to sign with any team they choose for the better part of a month. Because the Steelers did not sign them to the 53-man roster last season, they are not pending unrestricted free agents. They are simply street free agents with no compensatory value and no contracts. And they, once again, are free to sign with anybody willing to sign them right now.
Which may tell us something about how the Steelers feel. Multiple members of the organization multiple times talked them up. Mike Tomlin said in his final press conference he certainly would be open to doing further business with each.
If that is so, then why are they unsigned? I don’t know how likely it is that either or both of them turned down offers. The 31 other teams in the league had the power to sign them to their 53-man rosters at any point last year. They didn’t. That suggests they didn’t think all that highly of the veteran former starters.
Both of them acquired starting roles with the Steelers late in the season due to injury. Rowe started at strong safety and Jack started, or rotated, at inside linebacker. Both drew positive reviews on the whole for their performances, so why would Pittsburgh look the other way now?
As far as safety goes, the Steelers have Damontae Kazee and Keanu Neal and Trenton Thompson. The latter two ended the season on the Reserve/Injured List. Kazee served a three-game suspension at the end of the regular season. They do have numbers there, not to mention Minkah Fitzpatrick.
Jack retired in August and came off the couch to play for the Steelers again. Odds are good that he simply fades back into retirement given the unlikelihood he finds another starting opportunity. He is past the days of playing for minimum contracts. And neither he nor Rowe offers much special-teams value as depth players. But if the Steelers could sign either of them for Veteran Salary Benefit deals, would they?
The Steelers’ 2023 season has been put out of its misery, ending as so many have before in recent years: a disappointing, blowout playoff loss. The only change-up lately is when they miss the playoffs altogether. But with the Buffalo Bills stamping them out in the Wild Card Round, they have another long offseason ahead.
The biggest question hanging over the team is the quarterback question. Is Kenny Pickett the guy? Will he get another season’s reprieve without a serious challenge? How will the team address the depth chart? Do they re-sign Mason Rudolph, one of few significant unrestricted free agents?
The Steelers are swirling with more questions this offseason than usual, frankly, though the major free agent list is less substantial than usual. It’s just a matter of…what happens next? Where do they go from here? How do they find the way forward?
