Among the many surprises that unfolded at the 2025 NFL Draft, the Pittsburgh Steelers ignoring the quarterback position until Day 3 of the festivities was at or near the top of the list. The Steelers had a glaring need at the quarterback position and were linked fairly heavily to Shedeur Sanders with their first-round pick. Instead, they further bolstered an already high-end defense by selecting Derrick Harmon while Sanders slid to the fifth round and ended up with an AFC North rival in Cleveland.
The Steelers were able to add seven players in the draft even after trading their second-round pick in the DK Metcalf deal, meaning that their roster will likely have a new look by the time the regular season begins.
With that in mind, there's a good chance that these three players in particular will be gone in some capacity ahead of the 2025 regular season.
3) Moving on from Dean Lowry should be an easy decision after drafting Derrick Harmon
Selecting Harmon with their first-round pick means that an already stout defensive line is only now better and deeper. Given the depth Pittsburgh has, it wouldn't be surprising to see them move on from a defensive lineman to open roster space at another position of need. With that in mind, Dean Lowry feels like a player the Steelers can move on from rather easily.
Not too long ago, Lowry was a very productive player with the Green Bay Packers. He set career-highs with 5.0 sacks and nine QB hits back in 2021. Unfortunately, he has combined for just 1.5 sacks and six QB hits in his 36 games played in the three seasons since. He had 1.0 sack and one QB hit in 12 games for the Steelers last season while being on the field for just 21 percent of the team's defensive snaps.
At this point, Lowry is 30 years old and will only see less playing time than he did last season due to Harmon's arrival. Cutting him now would save the Steelers $2.5 million of his $3.1 million cap hit. That feels like a no-brainer at this point.
2) Skylar Thompson will be the odd-man out if/when the Steelers sign Aaron Rodgers
Sure, the Steelers did draft Will Howard, but that selection came in the sixth round. Pittsburgh's refusal to invest major draft capital into a quarterback suggests the Steelers did not view any of the options available to them as starters for the 2025 season. Well, if they didn't draft Howard to start, chances are, they'll look to add a starter externally like Aaron Rodgers. It feels like a matter of when, not if, that happens.
When Rodgers does eventually arrive in Pittsburgh, suddenly, Pittsburgh's quarterback room will be set. Rodgers will be the starter, and one of Mason Rudolph or Howard will be the backup, with the other serving as the third quarterback. That means there's a slim chance that Skylar Thompson will stick around with the organization long-term.
Thompson signed a cheap one-year deal to join Pittsburgh over the offseason, but only $82,216 of it is guaranteed, making him an easy player to cut if they choose. Thompson will stick around for the time being, but assuming everyone stays healthy and Rodgers comes aboard, it's hard to envision the team carrying four quarterbacks making him the odd-man out.
1) It wouldn't be surprising to see the Steelers look to trade George Pickens
The biggest move Pittsburgh has made since wrapping up the 2024 campaign was the trade that brought DK Metcalf to town. That deal gives Pittsburgh a clear-cut WR1 for whoever their quarterback is to throw to, and also put George Pickens' future in Pittsburgh in question.
Sure, the Steelers could keep Pickens around as the team's WR2, but how would he react to a role demotion? As talented as Pickens is, he has brought the team as many headaches as he has highlights since being drafted back in 2022.
Pickens' name has been squarely in rumors since the Steelers made the Metcalf deal, and that isn't by accident. Not only did they add Metcalf, but Pickens is entering his final year under contract with Pittsburgh. The chances of the Steelers paying Metcalf and Pickens high-end money are incredibly slim.
It'd be nice for Pickens to stick around and give Pittsburgh an elite wide receiver duo, but it just feels more likely that they'll look to see what they can get for him sooner rather than later.