If the 2024 Pittsburgh Steelers feel like a vastly different bunch than the 2023 edition, it’s because it is. As calculated by Over The Cap’s Jason Fitzgerald, the Steelers have only 62.5 percent of last year’s roster returning. It’s the fifth-highest turnover rate of any team in football. Or presented another way, 28th in roster retention.
As compiled by Fitzgerald, only the Washington Commanders, Los Angeles Chargers, Miami Dolphins, and Houston Texans have had more turnover.
The Commanders and Chargers have new regimes, head coaches and general managers, which typically go hand-in-hand with roster changes. Meaning the Steelers have the third-highest turnover of teams that retained their head coaches and front offices.
Offensively is where Pittsburgh has seen the biggest changes, none more than its quarterback room. All three quarterbacks who populated the roster a season ago, Kenny Pickett, Mitch Trubisky, and Mason Rudolph, are gone. Pickett was traded to the Philadelphia Eagles, Trubisky released and signed with the Buffalo Bills, and Rudolph a free agent who inked a deal with the Tennessee Titans. Elsewhere, starting WR Diontae Johnson was shipped to the Carolina Panthers.
Defensively, the Steelers’ front seven saw fewer roster moves but the secondary underwent turnover. Cornerbacks Levi Wallace, James Pierre, Chandon Sullivan, and Patrick Peterson are no longer on the roster. Wallace signed with the Denver Broncos, Pierre with the Washington Commanders, while Sullivan and Peterson remain free agents with the chance of one of them returning. Safety Keanu Neal was replaced by DeShon Elliott.
Special teams saw plenty of churn too. Veteran punter Cameron Johnston replaced Pressley Harvin III while pure special teamers like WR Miles Boykin exited, though the team retained top ace Miles Killebrew on a two-year deal.
A separate tweet showed the Steelers having 25 percent of last year’s roster not currently on a 2024 team, also ranking as one of football’s highest rates. As for the teams with high retention, the Green Bay Packers return over 80 percent of their players from a year ago. Around the AFC North, the Cincinnati Bengals lead the way with more than 75 percent of their roster intact. Fitzgerald’s tweets also show high turnover in Baltimore while the Cleveland Browns aren’t listed in his screenshots but likely fall somewhere in the middle of the pack.
