5 Pittsburgh Steelers who should be sent packing after gutting playoff loss to Ravens

Mike Tomlin may never have the Pittsburgh Steelers experience the pain of a losing regular season but the trade-off since 2017 has been that they also haven't tasted even a drop of playoff glory either. That unfortunate trend continued on Saturday night with a Wild Card Round drubbing at the hand of the rival Baltimore Ravens. The Steelers are now sent packing from the playoffs and will be hard at work at the drawing board with general manager Omar Khan.

There could and should be major changes coming down the pipeline for the Steelers. George Pickens clearly wants that after his postgame comments indicated a bit of hopelessness for the future. While some might rush to trade the enigmatic receiver, though, there couldn't be a worse idea given his talent. Improve the situation and his antics might at least marginally subside.

Beyond Pickens, though, there are several Steelers free agents who should hit the road and who won't be back in Pittsburgh for the 2025 season for one reason or another — some of them more glaring than others as well.

5. Mike Williams wasn't worth the desperate trade for Pittsburgh

You know when you go to the grocery store and an item on your shopping list is out of stock, so you settle for a brand or alternative that just isn't quite what you want but you'll get the job done? That's essentially how the Steelers ended up with Mike Williams at the trade deadline. To Pittsburgh's credit, they were trying since August to get a running mate on the outside with Pickens but desperation eventually took over to get Williams from the Jets to the Steelers.

Unfortunately, Williams simply couldn't have been less of a factor in elevating the passing offense. That was made painfully apparent when Pickens missed three games due to injury and the aerial attack largely stalled out but the totality of his work in Pittsburgh shows as much too. His touchdown catch in his debut was the only one he made in nine games while only registering nine total receptions for 132 yards in the regular season and then catching one of two targets for 37 yards in the playoff loss.

Williams is now set for free agency this offseason. The Steelers still direly need more help at wide receiver moving forward but it's hard to think that they still believe that the veteran and former first-round pick is any type of long-term solution to that problem.

4. It's time to end the Dan Moore Jr. era on the Steelers offensive line

This is definitely a tricky proposition for the Steelers offensive line moving forward. Pittsburgh has used high-end draft capital in the first round the last two year's to bring in the likes of Broderick Jones and Troy Fautanu. Whether because of injuries or underperformance though, neither has exactly been able to take the bull by the horns and solidify the bookend spots on a shaky offensive line.

Thus, veteran Dan Moore Jr. has been left to continue manning one of the tackle spots. And while PFF ($) graded him as the best tackle on the Steelers roster this season, that's merely a low bar to clear as he was ranked 42nd out of 81 qualifying players at the position. Furthermore, he was the lowest-graded player on the Pittsburgh offense when it mattered most in the playoff loss to Baltimore.

While there is something to be said for having a veteran presence in the tackle room with Jones and Fautanu, Moore's tenure needs to end. The Steelers often hamstring themselves by not being willy to fully give the reins over to something new but the argument could be made that's the best way to assess these tackles and the line as a whole moving forward.

3. Cameron Sutton definitely shouldn't be back in 2025

Bringing veteran cornerback Cam Sutton back to Pittsburgh was controversial from the jump, as it should've been. He was released by the Detroit Lions in March after a warrant for his arrest in a domestic abuse case was made public. But just three months later, the Steelers brought him back for another tenure with the team. He was suspended for the first eight games of the season before taking the field.

Even beyond that, however, Sutton was not a good football player in the 2024 season either, which showed up again in the loss to the Ravens. While he's been a quality slot coverage player in his career, those days may be behind him as he was consistently picked on throughout the season, even in a limited role.

With the emergence of Beanie Bishop Jr. as a standout rookie, albeit an inconsistent one, there's no need to belabor the point with Sutton. It was a bad moral idea to sign him in the first place but, after seeing him not even perform on the field and having a much cheaper rookie look better with more room to grow, he should be left to walk in free agency without any attempt from Pittsburgh to get him to stay.

2. Najee Harris isn't worth what Pittsburgh would have to pay the RB

It's time for the Steelers to make some tough decisions in the running back room as Najee Harris is at the end of his rookie contract now and while Jaylen Warren is now a restricted free agent as well. We all know that Harris was a first-round pick out of Alabama in 2021. Though he's reeled off an impressive run of 1,000-yard seasons, it would also not be unfair to say that the running back has never quite been the game-changing force many fans in Pittsburgh had hoped he'd be.

For me, I think the Steelers have already shown how they feel about Harris' future. The fact that they declined the fifth-year option for the running back prior to this past season is a good indication that they aren't willing to spend top-dollar on him anymore. Yet, with the impact that we saw Saquon Barkley and Derrick Henry have as free-agent additions this offseason, I fully believe that Harris will still get paid handsomely.

My expectation is that Harris will ultimately end up being allowed to walk this offseason, Warren will be retained, and I wouldn't be surprised to see the Steelers use a Top 100 pick in the draft on a new running back to bring into the fray. But that all means that Harris has played his last game in Pittsburgh.

1. The Russell Wilson experiment can't continue for the Steelers

If you just look at the box score, you'd have to give Russell Wilson some credit in the loss to the Ravens as he threw for 270 yards and two touchdowns with no turnover working against him. That, however, is entirely misleading.

The Steelers fell down 21-0 in the first half against Baltimore largely because the offense under Wilson's direction was inept. Pittsburgh didn't have a single first-half drive that went for 20 or more yards. That's completely unacceptable and highlights the fact that the majority of Wilson's production came when the game was already well out of reach and while the Steelers were playing catch-up.

That overall underscores the fact that the shine has completely worn off Wilson. His finish to the regular season was brutal individually as he didn't throw for more than 217 yards in the final four games of the regular season while also seeing Pittsburgh lose the final four games of the year and then adding a fifth with the playoff loss.

Wilson's price tag is only going up this offseason after he was able to sign for the veteran minimum following his release from the Broncos last spring. The Steelers can afford to bring him back but the question is if they should. They would be better off finding another veteran option or even taking a flier in the draft than they would be paying more for a quarterback who ultimately didn't deliver when it mattered most and is on the downside of his career.