Three days from now, the NFL’s legal tampering window will open. This allows teams to contact players and agents to start negotiating potential deals ahead of the official start of free agency on Wednesday, March 13, which is the start of the new league year.
In that window, the Pittsburgh Steelers and GM Omar Khan should be rather active once again in an effort to try and plug some holes on the roster.
Those holes are seemingly rather clear, but NFL.com laid out the biggest free agency needs for the Steelers on Thursday. In those needs, quarterback, offensive tackle and cornerback were highlighted for Pittsburgh, which has roughly $10,340,846 in cap space, according to Steelers Depot’s Dave Bryan.
That gives them quite a bit of room to maneuver in free agency with some additional moves that could come in the future to free up even more cap space, like a pay cut for Allen Robinson II and a restructure for Alex Highsmith.
“Mitchell Trubisky has been released, and Mason Rudolph could be headed elsewhere in free agency, making Kenny Pickett the last quarterback standing on a team that is ready to compete right now. Based on what Pickett has shown, Pittsburgh shouldn’t enter 2024 without ample competition at the position,” NFL.com writes regarding the Steelers’ biggest need. “Pickett finished last season with the third-lowest success rate among quarterbacks (38.8 percent). There’s one QB set to hit the market with whom new offensive coordinator Arthur Smith has worked well in the past: Ryan Tannehill, who led the NFL in success rate (55.1 percent) in 2019 when Tannehill and Smith helped push the Titans to the AFC Championship Game.
“Elsewhere, an upgrade at whichever offensive tackle spot Broderick Jones doesn’t end up starting at is likely warranted, as is a consistent cornerback presence opposite Joey Porter Jr. Porter allowed -16.0 target EPA last season, the fourth-fewest by a rookie cornerback since 2016.”
Quarterback is certainly one of the biggest needs for the Steelers, especially coming off the 2023 season. Though Rudolph looked strong in the final three regular-season games and had his moments in the AFC Wild Card loss, it’s uncertain if he’ll re-sign with the Steelers. Pickett was largely a disaster in his second NFL season and struggled with injuries throughout the season.
So, competition needs brought in, period. That could be in the form of Tannehill, who has a strong history with new offensive coordinator Arthur Smith, or it could be Russell Wilson, who reportedly is flying to Pittsburgh today to meet with the Steelers.
Outside of the quarterback position, offensive tackle and cornerback are big needs, too.
Dan Moore Jr. graded out as the worst pass-blocking tackle in football last season while Broderick Jones really struggled down the stretch at right tackle, especially in pass protection. Adding a veteran to the room and potentially selecting one early in the 2024 NFL Draft seems like the key move for the Steelers.
Cornerback outside of Porter is a real concern, too. Levi Wallace and Chandon Sullivan are set to hit free agency while Patrick Peterson was hit or miss last season, and the Steelers reportedly released the 13th-year veteran Friday morning.
The Steelers have quite a bit of work to do this offseason, that much is clear. That starts in free agency where the Steelers will have to get creative to try and plug some holes ahead of the 2024 NFL Draft.
