The 2024 season did not end the way any Pittsburgh Steelers fan, coach, or player wanted. A five-game losing streak, including a Wild Card loss to the rival Baltimore Ravens, is going to leave a sour taste in everyone’s mouth.
But the question is, how do the Steelers deal with that? Evidently, the team isn’t blowing things up and starting fresh. They can’t just run it back with the same guys again, can they?
“I think we can bounce back from it,” Steelers DL Cam Heyward said on SiriusXM NFL Radio from the Pro Bowl Games on Thursday. “But there are some things we need to clear up. We need to have a decision made at quarterback. And I think we need to add a couple more parts. We’ll see what happens. But I don’t have to make those decisions, and I’m happy I don’t have to make those decisions. Because I’d like to have both of those guys back.”
The biggest decision this offseason from an on-field personnel perspective is the quarterback spot. Do the Steelers re-sign either quarterback who started games this year in Russell Wilson or Justin Fields? Do they try to keep both as Heyward said he would like? Or do they go in a completely different direction yet again?
But Heyward drives a salient point home: The Steelers need to make a decision and run with it. Now, 2024 didn’t happen the way anyone pictured it, with Wilson suffering a calf injury at the onset of training camp and then again right before the season opener. That pressed Fields into service unexpectedly. So both Fields and Wilson started in 2024. But I have to imagine every NFL team (and player) would prefer to have just one starting quarterback over the course of a season.
Perhaps more importantly, Heyward points out the need to add more talent to the Steelers’ roster. While he doesn’t go into much detail, we can all certainly take a look at the roster and see areas of need. There’s a reason that a lot of mock drafts have the Steelers taking a wide receiver with the 21st overall pick. The Steelers have no proven talent at the position behind WR George Pickens. And there are plenty of people who think he needs to go, including former Steelers OL Kendall Simmons. But regardless of who is at quarterback in 2025, the Steelers need better pass catchers to help them.
Also, on the offensive side of the ball, the Steelers have an offensive tackle problem. It’s not due to a lack of investment. After all, they’ve spent their last two first-round picks (including trading up in 2023) on the position. But Broderick Jones struggled in 2024, and 2024 first-round pick Troy Fautanu missed most of the season with injury. Hopefully, Fautanu will be completely healthy and ready to go for 2025 and the Steelers can move Jones to left tackle. But there are plenty of reasons for concern at the position.
There are areas on the defensive side of the ball that need addressed, too. The Steelers could use more young talent along the defensive line as well as at cornerback. Bringing in proven NFL talent at the wide receiver position and at a couple of key spots on the defensive side of the ball could make a big difference in 2025. Making those kinds of moves certainly would help the Steelers bounce back from a crushing end to 2024.
