It wouldn’t be the start of an NFL season if Colin Cowherd didn’t spend time criticizing the Pittsburgh Steelers for their defensive spending. He got the perfect opportunity to again take aim at Pittsburgh after the team gave DL Cameron Heyward a three-year, $45 million extension yesterday.
“Pittsburgh’s delusional with their whole offensive and defensive spending. I mean, I’m being serious here. Who has the most money spent on defense in the NFL this year? Oh, shocker, the Steelers by a mile,” Cowherd said on The Herd today. “The Steelers don’t spend money on offense. Third year in a row, the Steelers lead the NFL in defense spending. You can keep making excuses, but I’m watching your spending.
“You keep doing these things and then complaining, you know our offense isn’t good enough. You’re not spending any money on it.”
Cowherd then pointed out that this is the second time in three years the Steelers have the least amount of offensive spending in the league.
I won’t entirely discredit Cowherd’s argument. The Steelers could’ve invested more in their offense, particularly at the wide receiver position. Right now, the wide receiver room looks on paper to be one of the worst in football, although Mike Tomlin is encouraged by how the room has looked through training camp and the preseason. But they could’ve spent more to add another reliable option across from George Pickens, and if they had acquired Brandon Aiyuk, they would’ve spent a lot.
But Cowherd is blatantly ignoring some of the circumstances around why Pittsburgh’s offensive spending is so low. With the Denver Broncos releasing QB Russell Wilson, they ate most of his salary so he’s on a one-year, veteran minimum deal. The Steelers didn’t run it back at the quarterback position, opting to upgrade, and it worked out with Wilson being able to sign for the $1.21 million minimum and the team able to trade for Justin Fields and take on his $3.2 million salary for this season. Not spending on the quarterback position lowers the overall offensive spending in a big way.
Add the fact that Pittsburgh has drafted young offensive linemen and did sign OG Isaac Seumalo last offseason and OG James Daniels two years ago. Dan Moore Jr. is in the final year of his rookie contract while Broderick Jones is entering his second season and Troy Fautanu is a rookie. They chose to upgrade through the draft with Fautanu, Zach Frazier and Mason McCormick instead of adding through free agency.
It’s not as if the Steelers won’t spend on offense. They have in the past, and with Pickens due for an extension after the season, he’ll likely get one that pays him handsomely. They aren’t choosing to ignore their offense, but they’ve drafted and developed well defensively, and it makes sense to pay players like T.J. Watt, Minkah Fitzpatrick, and keep Cameron Heyward in the Black and Gold on a deal that’s good for both player and team.
It’s an annual talking point for Cowherd. It’s one that’s easy to make, but sometimes it’s just lazy. There’s a reason the offensive spending is low, and yes, the Steelers could’ve spent more at receiver. That’s a fair argument. But this team has been built on its defense and once again, the defense is going to be strong and the offense should be improved with the moves Pittsburgh made this offseason. Just because they didn’t spend a ton of money, doesn’t mean the Steelers didn’t improve.
