Tuesday is the Pittsburgh Steelers’ deadline to trim their roster down to 53 men. But it’s not the deadline to stop constructing the roster. With over 1,100 players flooding the free agent market, the Steelers could search for depth and upgrades to the end of their roster. Steelers’ beat writer Mark Kaboly expects GM Omar Khan to be a busy man the rest of the week.
Tweeting his thoughts Sunday, Kaboly said he thinks the Steelers will “go shopping” after cutdowns.
It would track with what Khan’s done his first two years post-cutdown. In 2022, he made two trades at the deadline, acquiring OG Jesse Davis and OLB Malik Reed. Neither player had an impact and Reed proved to be an unwise trade, undersized and weak against the run as the team scrambled to replace T.J. Watt after Week 1, but they were tweaks to try and upgrade the roster simultaneous to cutdowns.
Last season was less active in terms of adding pieces. Khan traded two players away in OG Kevin Dotson and C/G Kendrick Green but also signed CB Desmond King 48 hours after cutdowns. He, like Reed, wasn’t who the team hoped for and was sent back into free agency waters in mid-October.
Moves at or following cutdowns were common under Kevin Colbert. A yearly example of players put in the grocery cart prior to Week 1.
2023: CB Desmond King (signed)
2022: OG Jesse Davis (trade), EDGE Malik Reed (trade)
2021: CB Ahkello Witherspoon (trade)
2020: QB Josh Dobbs (signed), S Sean Davis (signed), P Dustin Colquitt (signed)
2019: CB Joe Haden (signed)
Of course, that list is a reminder that sometimes the items on the shelves are expired. King and Reed weren’t successful additions. Witherspoon became a key piece down the stretch in 2021 before becoming fool’s gold the following year. Dobbs threw five passes in 2020, Davis was only a special teamer, and Colquitt was cut before Halloween. Haden was the biggest and best addition.
Fast forward to 2024. Where could Pittsburgh use help? The secondary seems likely to receive at least one upgrade, if not more. Cornerback depth is weak on the outside and in the slot and there’s even an argument to be made for a fifth safety. Pittsburgh could have their eye on wide receiver while Brandon Aiyuk’s situation looms. Adding a stronger backup center than Ryan McCollum is plausible and I’ve made the case for the team to add a pure special teamer, someone like ex-Steeler WR Miles Boykin or Philadelphia Eagles CB Zech McPhearson (sadly, my suggestion of Houston Texans S Brandon Hill is no more).
It’s difficult to believe the Steelers’ roster that takes flight to Atlanta will consist of the same group of guys in the building right now. Pittsburgh has strength at many positions: running back, tight end, defensive line, and inside linebacker, but there are several spots worth addressing.
