Buy Or Sell: The Steelers should go after S Terrell Edmunds this offseason.
Explanation: The former Steelers first-round safety is due back on the open market this offseason. General manager Omar Khan said they tried to re-sign him last year but he turned down their offer. Perhaps a year bouncing around the league causes him to reconsider the greenness of foreign pastures.
Buy:
Terrell Edmunds remained a free agent by the time the Steelers signed both Damontae Kazee and Keanu Neal to multi-year contracts. We took that to mean that the Steelers were the party that opted to move on. General manager Omar Khan said otherwise after Edmunds signed an incentive-laden deal with Philadelphia.
Establishing that we know the Steelers wanted him back makes the rest of it easy. Neither Kazee nor Neal set the world on fire. Nobody will be surprised if they opt to release one of the two and replace him with another veteran.
And Edmunds is as reasonable an option as any. He did not flash in Pittsburgh, but he was largely stable and always worked well with Minkah Fitzpatrick. Coincidentally, Fitzpatrick just had his worst season without him, even factoring in the injuries. He’s still on the young side and knows the defense and many of his teammates. Chances are his market will be cheap at this point without a guarantee of a starting role.
Sell:
While the Steelers wanted to re-sign him, Edmunds evidently wanted a fresh start. He didn’t get it, but the sentiment remains. Perhaps he comes crawling back as has happened before with other players who leave. But they had their decision made for them a year ago.
While he progressed throughout his four years in Pittsburgh, Edmunds never rose far above mediocrity. The Steelers already have mediocre safeties under contract in Kazee and Neal. I don’t see much point in swapping one out for the other at this point. Just keep who you have. At least they have different skill sets.
With the Steelers’ 2023 season in the rearview mirror following a disappointing year that came up short in the playoffs once again, it’s time to start asking more questions. Questions about the team’s future in 2024 and beyond. Questions about The Standard.
The rookie class of a year ago was on the whole impressive, but they need to step up into staple starters in 2024. And they likely need a strong influx of talent in both free agency and in the 2024 NFL draft yet again. In addition to a revisitation of the coaching staff.
These sorts of uncertainties are what I will look to address in our Buy or Sell series. In each installment, I will introduce a topic statement and weigh some of the arguments for either buying it (meaning that you agree with it or expect it to be true) or selling it (meaning you disagree with it or expect it to be false).
