Mike Tomlin’s team managed to clinch a playoff spot in 2021 but it was a short stay. Could the Pittsburgh Steelers be busier than usual this offseason?
Following a 1-3 start, the Pittsburgh Steelers rebounded to go 8-4-1 the rest of the season and returned to the playoffs. In what turned out to be quarterback Ben Roethlisberger’s final NFL game, the club was rolled by the Kansas City Chiefs, 42-21, in the wild card round.
For the first time since 2003, “Big Ben” will not be a member of the organization. That also happens to be the last time the franchise finished with a losing campaign. And this offseason, the Steelers will finally have some salary-cap room (see Spotrac). What veterans could general manager Kevin Colbert (who will retire after the 2022 NFL Draft) have his eye on?
Steelers: 5 free agent targets for 2022
5. G Will Hernandez (New York Giants)
Last April, general manager Kevin Colbert and the organization used the 24th overall pick on University of Alabama running back Najee Harris. He finished with 307 carries for 1,200 yards and seven scores on the ground, plus finished second on the team with 74 receptions – good for 467 yards and three touchdowns. But the team still finished 29th in the league in rushing.
Simply put, a rebuilt offensive line had too many downs and instead of ups. Last offseason, the team added guard Trai Turner in free agency. But he could test the open market this year again.
Will Hernandez was a second-round pick by the Giants in 2018. He started every game in three of his four seasons with the team and could still be re-signed by New York. The 6-foot-2, 327-pound pro could bring some power to Pittsburgh’s offensive front still trying to find itself.
4. TE Mo Alie-Cox (Indianapolis Colts)
It would be ironic if the franchise looked at another tight end from the Indianapolis Colts to bolster their roster. Of course, the Pittsburgh Steelers did find a gem in last year’s draft. The club used a second-round pick on Penn State’s Pat Freiermuth and he proved to be a real find.
He finished third on the team with 60 receptions. And only wide receiver Diontae Johnson (8) caught more scoring passes for Mike Tomlin’s team. Freiermuth totaled 497 receiving yards, reached the end zone seven times and also caught a pass for a two-point conversion.
As for that aforementioned former Colts’ tight end, Eric Ebron has spent the past two seasons in the Steel City and had drawn mixed reviews. He missed most of the 2021 season with a knee injury and wound up playing in just eight games. He caught a dozen passes for only 84 yards and three scores. The previous season, the one-time first-round pick of the Detroit Lions totaled 56 grabs for 558 yards and five TDs.
Young Zach Gentry has shown some promise. But Mo Alie-Cox could be an intriguing option. He caught a combined 70 passes in four seasons with the Colts. And he comes off a year in which he scored a career-best four touchdowns.
3. LB Kwon Alexander (New Orleans Saints)
Later this year, teams will have to make a decision on whether they want to pick up the fifth-year option on players selected in the first round in 2019. In the case of the Steelers, that pertains to inside linebacker Devin Bush.
As a rookie, he led the team with 109 tackles, to go along with two interceptions and four fumble recoveries. In 2020, he was lost after five games with a knee injury. This past season, he played and started in 14 regular-season contests and finished with 70 stops, two sacks and four passes defensed. But those numbers masked the fact that he was simply not the same player that debuted in ’19.
The former University of Michigan standout is under contract for 2022. But can he regain his rookie form? Bush was one of many reasons the Steelers finished dead last in the league vs. the run this past season.
During his first three seasons in the league with the Buccaneers, versatile linebacker Kwon Alexander was a productive defender. He played in only six games in his fourth year, signed with the 49ers in 2019 but was limited to 13 games in one-plus seasons.
He was dealt to the Saints during the 2020 season. This past year, he finished with 50 tackles and a career-best 3.5 sacks. And Alexander was part of a defense that finished fourth in the league vs. the run. And via ESPN’s Adam Schefter, former Dolphins head coach Brian Flores joins a defensive staff that includes new coordinator Teryl Austin.
2. RT Morgan Moses (New York Jets)
Back to the Steelers’ troubled offensive line, which will need to be upgraded if any quarterback or running game is to succeed in 2022. Sam Monson of Pro Football Focus (subscription required) ranked all 32 of the league’s offensive fronts and the Black and Gold finished 26th in this category. Former Carolina Panthers’ assistant Pat Meyer is Pittsburgh’s new offensive line coach.
There’s a lot of work to be done here. This past season, the Super Bowl-bound Cincinnati Bengals swept Mike Tomlin’s team for the first time since 2009. And one of the big reasons the club was held to 10 points in each setback (and a combined 96 yards rushing in 2 games) was the inability to block the Bengals’ upgraded defensive front.
Massive tackle Morgan Moses has been one of the league’s most reliable players at his position. A third-round pick by Washington in 2014, he didn’t see a lot of action as a rookie. But he has played in 113 consecutive regular-season games dating back to ’15, including 17 with the Jets in 2021.
He’s started 112 of those contests and also made a pair of playoff starts for Washington in 2015 and 2020. The 6-foot-6, 318-pound performer could bring a real physical presence to this offense.
1. QB Jameis Winston (New Orleans Saints)
The talent has always been there but so have the miscues. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers made 2013 Heisman Trophy winner Jameis Winston the first overall pick in the 2015 NFL Draft. He spent five seasons with the franchise, threw for a combined 19,737 yards – including an NFL-high 5,109 yards in 2019 – and had nearly as many turnovers (111) as touchdown passes (121).
He signed with the rival Saints in 2020 and made four regular-season appearances. In a playoff loss to the Bucs, he threw his only TD pass of the season off a trick play.
In 2021, he started the first seven games for Sean Payton’s team before suffering a season-ending knee injury in early November. He threw for 14 scores and ran for another. And as for the mistakes, he gave up the football just four times in seven outings. Winston played turnover-free football in five of his seven games.
Offensive coordinator Matt Canada is back for a third season with the team and his second with his current title. And Tomlin has mentioned a desire for more mobility from his quarterback going forward. Does Winston fill the bill? Has he fully recovered from his knee injury and can once again be a factor with his legs? He certainly has the arm to maximize Pittsburgh’s talented receiving corps.