Why did the Steelers invest in their specialists and then let core special teamers James Pierre and Miles Boykin leave?
When the Pittsburgh Steelers released Pressley Harvin III and replaced him with Cameron Johnston, we knew they meant business. Then they signed Cordarrelle Patterson to upgrade their kick return game. Clearly, they’re investing in special teams. On top of that, they (in my opinion) overpaid to reward ace special teamer Miles Killebrew.
Between those three deals, the Steelers are spending $9,250,000 per season on three special teamers. That doesn’t even factor in Christian Kuntz’s (admittedly negligible) three-year contract. And lest we forget, they’re paying Chris Boswell $4.2 million per season, so we’re in nearly $13.5 million on four players.
But then they let their two starting gunners leave in free agency? Miles Boykin signed a veteran minimum contract with the New York Giants. James Pierre did the same with the Washington Commanders, so they’ll play each other twice a year.
The Steelers made contradictory moves this offseason in terms of demonstrating their commitment to special teams value. They rewarded one of their best special teamers in Miles Killebrew, but perhaps at the expense of others.
The losses of Boykin and Pierre also hurt the depth charts for wide receiver and cornerback, respectively. Both positions are still lacking in depth, so I struggle to understand why the Steelers let them walk for peanuts.
At least, I’m assuming that the Steelers let them walk. The odds of them wanting to leave and then signing for the minimum are low. They both enjoyed success in Pittsburgh. I don’t see Boykin having much more of a receiving role in New York, nor Pierre playing more corner in Washington.
I’m inclined to assume that the Steelers could have cheaply retained both of these players and did not. Perhaps I’m wrong, and we’ll probably never know either way, but it seems like an unnecessary risk to take. And it flies in the face of their other offseason moves that showed a commitment to special teams.
The only benefit I can grant them is that perhaps they felt they didn’t fit as well with the new kickoff rules. But their greatest value came on covering punts, not kickoffs.
The Steelers’ 2023 season has been put out of its misery, ending like so many have 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?
