By the end of the 2024 season, the Pittsburgh Steelers’ offense looked anything like a finished product. In terms of personnel construction for next season, though, Ray Fittipaldo argues that they are nearly there already. Outside of the quarterback conundrum and adding a wide receiver, he says, this is basically the Steelers’ offense next season.
“They’ve already done the majority of their moves on offense”, Fittipaldo said while discussing the Steelers on the North Shore Drive podcast recently. “Other than figuring out who’s gonna play quarterback and figuring out what you’re gonna do with George Pickens and the rest of that receivers room, everything else is pretty much in place”.
The offensive line, for example, is already in place, at least in theory. The Steelers have drafted four linemen over the past two years, and all project to be starters in 2025. Add Isaac Seumalo, and there you have it. Pat Freiermuth and Darnell Washington are still the tight ends, and they might even run it back in the backfield. Pickens is likely to stay at this point, and Roman Wilson and Calvin Austin III return. So what’s left, really, but plunking down a quarterback and another wide receiver?
“It’s time for Broderick Jones to step up and to play better. It’s time for Zach Frazier and Troy Fautanu and Pat Freiermuth and all those guys to take more on their shoulders and to become a bigger part of this football team”, Fittipaldo said, making it clear that the Steelers’ offense must improve individual and collective growth. “When I look at this roster construction, the offense, I think it’s like, 80 percent done. A little tinkering here and there”.
“The majority of that work is done. Now you have to count on those guys to make incremental improvements each and every year”.
Now, I’m sure that probably isn’t a very comforting thought for a lot of Steelers fans, who hoped for change. Most likely, either Russell Wilson or Justin Fields is also going to be the quarterback. Barring the “additions” of Troy Fautanu and Roman Wilson, this could be the exact same offense that ended last season other than the addition of one outside receiver.
Or the Steelers could do a lot more than we might realize. Most already expect that they will add at least one outside running back, if not two, so that’s one possibility. They could also add multiple outside receivers, one veteran and one rookie. And if they were to, say, trade for Matthew Stafford, that would be very different. They could even draft another guard along the offensive line, even if Mason McCormick is a fan favorite.
Given how the offseason has gone so far, though, the Steelers have conditioned their fans not to expect much. Unless Fautanu and Wilson make big differences and the young players take significant steps forward, this is the same offense. But there were times that offense actually looked good last year—how do they keep it that way?
