Does bringing in Arthur Smith’s players actually matter in installing his offense with the Pittsburgh Steelers?
Since hiring Arthur Smith as their offensive coordinator, the Pittsburgh Steelers have signed three players whom he coached in Atlanta. That includes WR Van Jefferson, who only spent a short time with him, but also more players with longer tenures. Both TE MyCole Pruitt and RB Cordarrelle Patterson almost entirely overlapped with Smith’s three years as Atlanta Falcons head coach.
You can make sense of most of the signings easily enough. The Steelers severely lacked wide receiver depth, so they brought in a veteran in Jefferson. Patterson is a former All-Pro kick returner signed to exploit the new kick return rules. As for Pruitt, he’s tougher to explain in terms of need.
The truth is he is far from a lock to make the roster, though, neither is Jefferson. But the theory is, since they played in Smith’s offense recently, they can help the integration process. How much water does this hold in practice, though, really?
Theoretically, the offensive coordinator should be sufficient enough to explain his offense. Are players like Pruitt and Patterson effectively coaching assistants in communicating his message? Naturally, we would like to think so, and perhaps there’s some truth to that, and why they’re here.
Or maybe it’s simply the Steelers signing players Smith liked working with who made sense for the roster at the time with minimal investment. Both Jefferson and Pruitt presumably signed Veteran Salary Benefit deals. Patterson signed a two-year, $6 million contract, but unlike the others, he has a clear, defined role.
The Steelers hadn’t hired an outside offensive coordinator in over a decade before bringing Smith in. Former Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger passive-aggressively responded to the changes in terminology and other adjustments that came with the first major shift in system he experienced in his career. And all they brought in with Todd Haley was TE Leonard Pope. Perhaps if they signed a couple more depth players Haley previously coached they would have a Super Bowl.
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 Wildcard Round, they have another long offseason ahead.
The biggest question hanging over the team is the quarterback question. Does Russell Wilson make them a Super Bowl-caliber team, or are they wasting a year? Will he play just one season in Pittsburgh before moving on, or the Steelers moving on from him? How will the team address the depth chart?
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?
