Entering free agency next week, the Pittsburgh Steelers could find themselves rather busy once again under GM Omar Khan, as the franchise has a few holes to plug on both sides of the football.
Quarterback and receiver are the biggest needs on the offensive side of the football, while defensive line and cornerback are the biggest needs on the defensive side of the football.
Defensively, the Steelers might have more to choose from than on offense when it comes to free agency as there are some big names that are slated to hit the market along the defensive line and at cornerback.
For former NFL agent and current CBS Sports analyst Joel Corry, he outlined what contracts could look like for a trio of potential Steelers targets in free agency on the defensive side of the football.
Those potential targets include defensive lineman Milton Williams, and cornerbacks Byron Murphy and D.J. Reed.
For Williams, Corry sees the veteran Eagles’ defensive lineman who dominated the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LIX earning a three-year, $70 million deal in free agency, with $50 million guaranteed and $40 million at signing.
“Williams had five sacks and a career-high 40 quarterback pressures (combined sacks, quarterback hurries and quarterback hits) according to Pro Football Focus last season in a Philadelphia Eagles interior defensive line rotation with Pro Bowler Jalen Carter and 2022 first-round pick Jordan Davis,” Corry writes regarding Williams. “His 47.8% defensive playtime was also a career high. The 40 pressures were four more than Williams had in the previous two seasons combined. Williams ranked fourth among NFL interior defensive linemen in PFF’s pass-rush win-rate metric (17.5%).”
Williams had a big contract year for the Eagles, and he capped it off with an eye-opening performance in the Super Bowl, which has him as arguably the best defensive lineman on the free agent market and in line for a significant pay raise.
From a Steelers’ perspective, it’s easy to connect the dots with Williams as a potential free agent target. There was pre-draft interest in Williams from the Steelers in 2021. Steelers’ DL Coach Karl Dunbar also went and worked Williams out at his Pro Day, as reported by draft insider Tony Pauline at the time.
Steelers Depot’s Alex Kozora laid out why Williams could be in the Steelers’ free agency plans.
With a need in the trenches opposite Cameron Heyward, a young addition like Williams could play well in Pittsburgh, along with Keeanu Benton and a possible draft pick or two in a great defensive line class in the 2025 NFL Draft.
At cornerback, the Steelers could find themselves in the market for the likes of Minnesota Vikings’ cornerback Byron Murphy, and New York Jets’ cornerback D.J. Reed.
Reed has long been connected to the Steelers this offseason as a scheme fit, while Murphy is a player the Steelers had interest in coming out of Washington in the 2019 NFL Draft as the Steelers hosted him as an official pre-draft visitor.
For Murphy, Corry projects a four-year, $84 million deal with $57.5 million guaranteed, including $45.5 million at signing.
“There’s no better time to have a career year than in a contract year. That’s exactly what Murphy did in 2024. Murphy’s six interceptions tied for the NFL lead among cornerbacks. He was rewarded with his first Pro Bowl berth because of his efforts,” Corry writes of Murphy and his contract projection.
Corry compared a possible Murphy contract to the likes of L’Jarius Snead and Jaylon Johnson, two cornerbacks who recently signed major deals for the Tennessee Titans and Chicago Bears, respectively. At just 27 years old and coming off of a career season, Murphy should be able to cash in and would be a good addition to the Steelers, who need a cornerback opposite Joey Porter Jr. to shore up the position.
Reed is another option. Corry projects a four-year, $60 million deal for Reed with $40 million guaranteed and $32.5 million at signing.
“Reed was arguably the Jets’ most consistent cornerback in 2024 playing opposite two-time first-team All-Pro Sauce Gardner, who had a down year by his standards. The more teams that are comfortable Reed can successfully make the transition from a No. 2 cornerback to matching up with opposing top wide receivers, the better off Reed will be financially,” Corry writes of Reed. “The five-year, $88.884 million extension, averaging $17,776,800 per year with $43,268,889 of guarantees, Deommodore Lenoir received from the 49ers in November surely caught Reed’s attention.”
Reed will turn 29 in November, so he’s still in the prime of his career and fits the timeline and the need for the Steelers at the position. He’s a player who’s been connected to the Steelers throughout the offseason, too, due to his play style and the type of coverage he thrives in, that being the closed-cover-type settings with no help over the top. Pittsburgh runs quite a bit of with single-high safety looks.
