The Pittsburgh Steelers and Miami Dolphins shocked the NFL world today with a late-June blockbuster that saw Pittsburgh acquire CB Jalen Ramsey and TE Jonnu Smith in exchange for FS Minkah Fitzpatrick and a late-round pick swap in 2027. It was another big move by the Steelers in an offseason full of them, and former head coach Bill Cowher thinks Pittsburgh’s roster-building strategy shows their urgency to win a playoff game.
“This makeover on this football team is pretty significant…this is a whole different football team from a roster standpoint, from a starting standpoint. Some of the same staff, but I think again, there’s a lot of excitement. I think it speaks for the sense of urgency that I think when you look at what Omar Khan and Mike Tomlin have done this offseason,” Cowher said on Movin’ The Chains on SiriusXM NFL Radio.
Cowher said the reason why this offseason feels un-Steeler-like in terms of how they’re building out their roster is because of their lack of playoff success.
“It’s different because they haven’t won a playoff game in six years, so I think you better take some different measures. So I think again, it speaks to the degree of urgency that they have. We are making wholesale changes. There’s a personality change with what they’re trying to do, maybe not so much schematically.”
While Cowher said the Steelers haven’t won a playoff game in six years, it’s been a bit longer, with the team’s last playoff win coming after the 2016 season. With an even longer drought than Cowher cited, it really does show that the Steelers are doing whatever it takes to win and win now.
With Aaron Rodgers in the fold for one year, the Steelers are showing that they’re committed to going all-in. The offseason started with a bang, with the team acquiring WR DK Metcalf via trade, a major move that felt like a surprise, and it’s only continued from there. Signing Rodgers and now making a big move to acquire Ramsey and Smith is the Steelers’ way of sending a message that they want to go for it in 2025.
Players like Cameron Heyward and T.J. Watt have experienced little to no playoff success during their tenures in Pittsburgh. Those guys aren’t getting any younger, and the narrative around head coach Mike Tomlin has begun to shift with questions about whether he can ever get it done in Pittsburgh again. This is Pittsburgh’s attempt to win for their aging defensive core and for Tomlin to make another playoff run.
It’s been an unconventional offseason, but as Cowher said, sometimes you have to go a different route when things aren’t working. It’s the splashiest offseason the Steelers have had in a long time, maybe ever. It was a little bit surprising last offseason when the team went out and signed Russell Wilson and traded for Justin Fields, but this offseason has topped that with the nature of the moves Pittsburgh has made and Omar Khan’s aggressiveness in trading for talent.
It’s a gamble for the Steelers, especially with the team getting older, but Khan, Tomlin, and co. are hoping their unconventional offseason pays off in the form of a playoff run.
