With the type of All-Pro defensive talent that has been on the Pittsburgh Steelers’ roster for the last several years, it always felt like they were a solid quarterback and maybe a couple other reasonable changes away from having an open Super Bowl window. I’ll admit that I started to buy into it following the shootout win over the Cincinnati Bengals in 2024 when the Steelers were 9-3 and in position to push for the AFC’s top seed. After the season’s rough conclusion and another year of the defensive stars aging, is the window still open with the right moves?
“I’m gonna say the window is closed, man,” former NFL DL Chris Canty said via ESPN’s Unsportsmanlike this morning. “The way they collapsed at the end of last season, losing the final five games and then that emphatic thud in the postseason against the Baltimore Ravens, it’s hard to have any faith in this team.”
The highest-paid defense in the league started to show signs of serious flaws by the end of the year. Even with a proficient offense, I’m not convinced that the defense was ready to compete deep into the playoffs. Other teams have had monumental turnarounds just by getting the right quarterback, but there doesn’t seem to be a path toward landing a true difference maker there.
Matthew Stafford might be the closest they could come to turning some heads this offseason, but reports indicate the Los Angeles Rams intend on keeping him. It wouldn’t exactly be an upgrade for the 37-year-old going from Sean McVay to this anemic Steelers offense. With a quarterback, things might look different, but I still don’t think I’d say the window is open.
“It sounds like they wanna run it back with Russell Wilson, and I’m not quite sure that the result is going to be much different with Russ a year older,” Canty said.
Too many questions remain about the offensive line, the defensive line, the secondary, the receiving corps, and the running back room. There are probably too many holes to reasonably address in one offseason. The Steelers would never admit it, but they are headed toward a fairly significant reload from top to bottom on the roster.
