The Pittsburgh Steelers enter free agency with a laundry list of issues to fix. They’ve got plenty of talent, but as was obvious toward the end of the 2024 season, Pittsburgh just didn’t have the depth to compete with the AFC’s upper echelon. GM Omar Khan has his work cut out for him. Thus, Steelers insider Mark Kaboly thinks fans should expect the team to be busy in the coming weeks.
“Khan has always used free agency to fill holes in the roster allowing the organization to approach the draft without a need in mind,” Kaboly wrote Thursday on X. “That will happen again but there’s going to be a significant signing or two as well including one that none of us we will see coming.”
Steelers fans will be happy to hear this, given the state of the franchise. Quarterback and running back are two positions in need of upgrading, and two players at each of those positions are pending free agents. The Steelers are never going to tank a season, so for them to remain competitive in 2025, they’ve got no choice but to be active in free agency.
Khan and the Steelers were active in that front last year. They brought in Patrick Queen on a three-year, $41 million deal. Outside of that, though, there weren’t many major moves. Russell Wilson was brought in, but the Steelers weren’t exactly in a bidding war for him. Aside from Deshon Elliott’s two-year, $6 deal, there wasn’t much action from Pittsburgh elsewhere on the open market.
Kaboly expects that to be different this year. He predicts one or two significant signings, which could be something similar to the Queen acquisition from last year. However, he offered one bold prediction.
“I will go out on a limb and say they will give a player the most lucrative free-agent contract in team history,” Kaboly wrote.
This is a prediction, not Kaboly saying it is something he thinks will absolutely happen. That said, if there was ever a time for Pittsburgh to make a move like that, it would be now. The Steelers are in football purgatory and need a drastic move to escape it. They also have plenty of cap space to do so.
Omar Khan expects a similar offseason compared to those of years past. That means Steelers fans can expect several cost-effective signings to fill roster holes. That’s smart, because it allows the Steelers to look at the best players available in the draft, rather than being pigeonholed into drafting based off need.
However, Pittsburgh may need a couple major investments on the market to elevate itself to true contender status. Khan’s shown a willingness to do so in the past as with Queen. As Kaboly points out, though, this free-agency period could be more active than usual in Pittsburgh.
