With free agency and the new league year right around the corner, the Pittsburgh Steelers’ roster could look dramatically different compared to 2024. The team has a much larger and stronger group of pending free agents compared to last year, giving the front office more important decisions to. Who will stay? Who will go?
Below are my predictions for what will happen throughout the next few weeks and months.
OG James Daniels – Leaves
A fairly obvious one off the top. Daniels would’ve been Pittsburgh’s No. 1 free agent had a Week 4 Achilles tear not interrupted what was shaping up to be a path to $20 million per season in a strong guard market. In theory, the injury increases the odds of Daniels returning because there was no way the Steelers were going to pay him that type of figure. It’s why they drafted Mason McCormick.
Still, the Steelers seem content with moving forward with their recent draft picks and letting Daniels sign elsewhere. It’s fair to wonder when he’ll ink a deal, perhaps needing to show more progress in his rehab before any team commits. He’ll likely take a one-year deal to prove he’s healthy and cash in during the 2026 offseason.
RB Najee Harris – Leaves
There’s still some belief Harris could return, and I won’t put those chances at zero. But the writing feels like it’s on the wall. From declining Harris’ fifth-year option last May to Pat Freiermuth’s somber sideline moment with him in the playoff loss to Omar Khan’s tepid “keep the door open” comment to all the interest the Steelers have shown in the rookie class, the two sides seemed destined to part.
Pittsburgh needs more big-play ability out of the position. Harris’ market value will likely fall above last year’s fifth-year option and with his same-as-before 2024 season, there’s no reason to think the Steelers are willing to pay him now. Becoming a bruising back in the Los Angeles Chargers’ offense (which would also send him close to home) or a workhorse back with say, the Las Vegas Raiders seems most likely. Harris’ durability and ball security are underrated factors coaches will love and there will be a market.
QB Justin Fields – Returns
At quarterback, things still feel uncertain. Right after the season ended with the Wild Card loss, I had the feeling and opinion Justin Fields should return. With no real clarity since, I’ll stick with that prediction. Fields is younger, more athletic, a better asset in the run game, and offensive coordinator Arthur Smith seems to vouch for him. Fields showed progress in a highly structured Steelers offense his first six starts, playing smarter and managing the game in a way he hadn’t before.
He still has flaws and I’m of the belief the Steelers’ true long-term answer at quarterback isn’t playing in the NFL right now. But he’s the best of a limited scope of options and worth taking a longer look at for 2026. Re-signing Fields doesn’t preclude the team from examining the rookie class this year or next.
QB Russell Wilson – Leaves
If Fields is back, Wilson is leaving. The town isn’t big enough for the both of them anymore. Wilson wants to remain in Pittsburgh and for good reason. The Steelers give him the best chance to win, outside options could be shallow, and he doesn’t want to play on his third team in three years. Mike Tomlin – and possibly ownership – have been in his corner every step so it shouldn’t be a shock if he does return, as underwhelming a prospect that might be. But it’s hard to re-sign the guy you went on a five-game losing streak with and pretend things will get better with an encore performance.
CB Donte Jackson – Leaves
I’ve wrestled with this one throughout the offseason. Jackson got off to a good start in 2024 but, like the team, had faded by year’s end. Injured and struggling to play in and finish games, he got toasted as Pittsburgh’s defense fell apart. Turning 30 before the 2025 season ends and with a ton of attractive free agent options for the Steelers to upgrade, there’s certainly no reason to quickly get a deal done with Jackson. Ultimately, I think the team goes in a different direction and Khan’s “door open” comment from the Combine, similar to Harris, suggests the team isn’t jumping at the chance to re-sign him.
OT Dan Moore Jr. – Leaves
Open and shut here. Moore’s imminent departure was only confirmed by Khan noting Broderick Jones would shift over to left tackle. Moore’s been steady and has incrementally improved, but the Steelers are rolling with their young bucks at tackle. Though hardly a franchise left tackle, Moore should get paid well in a free agent market that has an o-line tax, especially for in-their-prime players like Moore. Especially now that Alaric Jackson is off the board.
ILB Elandon Roberts – Returns
Roberts’ return seems likely. He’s a physical, run-stopping presence for a defense trying to add those types of people. Not subtract them. Perhaps he’ll have a market and Pittsburgh will have competition, but he’s expressed a desire to return to the team and I bet the Steelers feel the same way. Re-sign Roberts and roll back out the three-man rotation of Payton Wilson, Patrick Queen, and himself for 2025.
WR Mike Williams – Leaves
Williams will one day be an answer to an obscure piece of Steelers trivia. Traded for at the deadline, he made an immediate splash with a game-winning touchdown against the Washington Commanders. The rest of the season, he caught eight passes.
Pittsburgh will look to improve with a better veteran free agent receiver while Williams will look to find an offense more willing to use him. This match just didn’t work out.
OG Nate Herbig – Returns
A forgotten name considering he spent all season on injured reserve after tearing his labrum in literally the last hour of training camp, Herbig is worth keeping around. He could serve as backup center behind Zach Frazier or at least compete with Ryan McCollum, who held his own in two starts in 2024. Herbig also has guard value and will offer depth with Daniels out the door.
With brother Nick Herbig on the team, Nate has good reason to want to stick around. He just might not re-sign right away while evaluating his market and options as Pittsburgh does the same.
S Damontae Kazee – Leaves
Kazee has hung around for three seasons and provided competent dime snaps. But turning 32 in June and having a minimal impact on the 2024 season, the Steelers need to get younger and faster here. Pittsburgh can add higher-quality depth behind Minkah Fitzpatrick and DeShon Elliott and I don’t see a compelling reason for Kazee to return unless he takes a veteran-minimum type of deal.
WR Van Jefferson – Leaves
Jefferson likely leaves…for now, at least. It wouldn’t floor me if he circled back to the team post-draft or around OTAs. Pittsburgh likes his blocking and team-first attitude, and he has a connection with Arthur Smith. Still, it was laughable to see him serve as Pittsburgh’s No. 2 receiver last year, catching 24 passes on over 700 snaps. That can’t happen again.
The Steelers should be in no hurry to bring him back, but I could see him return on a one-year deal later this offseason, assuming he’s still floating around in free agency. Safe bet he will be.
QB Kyle Allen – Leaves
This one could go either way. Khan discussed the possibility of re-signing a “combination” of 2024 quarterbacks, presumably including Allen in the conversation knowing Wilson and Fields won’t both return. He threw one pass in 2024, a quick fill-in for Fields against the Dallas Cowboys, and Pittsburgh likes its quarterback depth chart to have Sunday snaps top to bottom.
Pittsburgh signed Skylar Thompson, who could assume a similar role. Is Allen good enough to be a No. 2? I think the Steelers will explore other options first. And for now, I’ll bet Allen doesn’t run it back.
TE MyCole Pruitt – Leaves
Pruitt was one of several Arthur Smith disciples to follow him to Pittsburgh. He was a competent in-line blocker but well into his 30s and constantly showing up on the injury report with knee trouble, it’s time to move on. He offered nothing as a receiver and his blocking wasn’t A-tier. The Steelers will need to add tight end depth elsewhere.
ILB Tyler Matakevich – Leaves
Matakevich has been a sharp special teamer but his playing days could soon be over. Limited by a hamstring injury in 2024, he appeared in just 11 games and made only four tackles after his return to Pittsburgh, the fewest of his career. Now 32, the Steelers can get younger and faster with their inside linebacker depth.
CB Cam Sutton – Leaves
What a mess. Pittsburgh rightfully took heat for signing Sutton months after his arrest warrant and felony charges for domestic abuse (he later entered into a diversion program and the charges were effectively dismissed). The Steelers banked on a return to the organization that drafted him being the key to turning around a bad 2023 with Detroit. They were wrong.
Returning from suspension after the bye, Sutton replaced rookie Beanie Bishop Jr. as the primary slot corner. The rust Sutton showed early never went away. Unable to turn and run anymore, his physical problems were compounded with mental ones, a recurring character at the heart of miscommunication that contributed to the Steelers’ historic five-game losing streak.
There’s no good reason to bring Sutton back and every reason to move on.
CB James Pierre – Returns
Pierre quickly re-joined the Steelers after spending an offseason in Washington. Pittsburgh misplayed its special teams hand going into the year without any capable gunners on the roster. They resolved those problems from the outside, reuniting with Pierre and signing WR Ben Skowronek.
Pierre did a fine job as a gunner. His 200 defensive snaps were less impressive, though he picked off a pass in a win over the Cleveland Browns. His lowest moment came when failing to haul in a pass while wide open on a fake punt against Washington, a crucial mistake that put the Commanders deep in Steelers’ territory.
Re-signing on a minimum, one year-deal as veteran cornerback depth would be an unexciting but wise move.
OL Max Scharping – Leaves
Scharping barely registered on the 2024 radar. Added in October when injuries wrecked the depth chart, he appeared in just two games mainly playing on the field goal unit. He added seven offensive snaps to mop up the Steelers’ Christmas Day loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. Even with several veteran linemen set to hit free agency, Pittsburgh can easily make upgrades here.
CB C.J. Henderson – Leaves
Just a wild guess on Henderson, who ended the season on injured reserve with a neck injury. A once-promising first-round pick, Pittsburgh took a chance on pedigree, but Henderson never suited up despite once believing he was set to make his Steelers debut.
Re-signing or letting Henderson leave will be met with a collective shrug.
OT Calvin Anderson – Returns
Anderson could stay or go but with Moore leaving, Pittsburgh may want to enter early parts of the offseason with some semblance of veteran tackle depth. Anderson fits that bill with experience at both spots and seemingly good in the locker room. He’ll be cheap to bring back and wouldn’t prevent the Steelers from searching for upgrades.
WR Ben Skowronek – Returns
Skowronek carved out a strong niche role with Pittsburgh. A quality gunner and special teamer, he also logged time as a heavy personnel blocker, often the lone receiver in three-tight end groupings. He caught just five passes all year but four went for first downs and he would work just fine as a No. 5 wide receiver behind George Pickens, Calvin Austin III, Roman Wilson, and the at least one outsider the team brings in.
DL Isaiahh Loudermilk – Returns
A fifth-round pick in 2021, Loudermilk’s reached his ceiling as a rotational base end. His pass rush impact is minimal but he’s a more focused rusher than early in his career, sticking with rips, push/pulls, and bulls instead of cross chops and finesse moves that aren’t his game.
He got the hat over Dean Lowry to close out 2024, a sign the Steelers liked Loudermilk more despite signing Lowry to a two-year deal. If Larry Ogunjobi is on the outs, re-signing Loudermilk offers depth while the team searches for an impact starter.
RB Jaylen Warren (RFA) – Returns
The final three are housekeeping. Warren is restricted and the team confirmed he’ll be tendered. It’s just a question of what level – right-of-first refusal or the second-round level? The former is cheaper while the latter virtually guarantees his return.
Guessing which tender level is more interesting than debating if Warren will remain a Steeler. I’ll wager he’s tendered at the original-round level, Pittsburgh banking an injury-marred 2024 coupled with a deep running back rookie pool won’t compel any team to offer Warren a deal.
EDGE Jeremiah Moon and C Ryan McCollum (ERFA) – Return
Moon and McCollum have no leverage here and will return if tendered. Moon can function as a No. 4 and special teamer who blocked a punt in the Steelers’ Week 6 win over the Las Vegas Raiders. Whether he can become anything as a pass rusher remains a question. McCollum filled in for Frazier for two games and will compete for the understudy role this summer.
