Impending free agents the Steelers can't let out the door in 2025

The Pittsburgh Steelers free agency period will be closely observed, but in the meantime, it will be instructive to observe which impending free agents currently on their roster are prioritized.

Entering a crucial offseason that can decide the fate of their third head coach in half a century, all eyes will be on general manager Omar Khan’s movements. The offseason is a never-ending battle equation that balances retaining talent with permitting valuable players to walk and create cap space that can be used to upgrade at key positions. Here’s the existing talent he should be focusing on retaining during the offseason before they begin chasing new talent.

Donte Jackson

Donte Jackson was the most consistent player in pass coverage for the Steelers this season. Jackson came over in the Dionate Johnson trade from Carolina and became a symbol of the Steelers penchant for winning trades. Johnson was just waived from his fourth team in a year. Jackson recorded five picks in 2024 and his 19 career interceptions are indicative of his nose for the ball.

Critics will cite Jackson’s waning performances in the final weeks of the regular season, but he was also nursing a back injury. For the majority of the season, Jackson performed admirably and was a good fit in the locker room. Besides, a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. Allowing Jackson to depart would leave a vacancy that is a headache to fill. Pittsburgh has enough to deal with on the offensive end without dipping back into the free-agency frenzy for a cover corner.  

Elandon Roberts

Roberts is one of the best downhill tacklers against the run whom the average fan doesn’t know. Chris Long called Elandon Roberts one of the hardest-hitting linebackers he's ever been around and the 2024 season backed that claim up. The Steelers' human missile was arguably responsible for two of the hardest hits of the season, including nearly forcing a takeaway against the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday Night Football by leaping over the line like a missile to smack Rico Dowdle in the backfield.

Roberts is a tone-setter. This season, Roberts earned a career-best 77.2 overall grade by PFF, and at 30, but was a vacuum against the run. In the Steelers' playoff loss against the Ravens, he also rallied for a game-high 14 tackles. Roberts is a liability against the pass but his value as a brute force is incalculable and he has expressed his interest in returning, alongside Parick Queen and Payton Wilson. The Steelers won’t have to break the bank for Roberts which is all the reason why they shouldn’t overlook him this spring. 

Russell Wilson 

In 11 starts, Wilson threw for 225.6 yards per game, including 16 touchdowns and five interceptions. While those numbers are fairly pedestrian from afar, Fields dinked and dunked his way to 184 yards per game, five touchdowns, and one interception in six starts. He also deposited five more touchdowns and 300 yards on the ground, but the passing attack had no oomph to it until Wilson took the helm.

The case for Fields is that he could be the general of a more fertile aerial offense with more playmakers surrounding him, but the same could be said of Wilson. If Wilson is willing to return for somewhere between $20-$25 million on a deal that can be easily terminated at the beginning of the league year if he underwhelms, the Steelers should seriously consider running it back. The New Orleans Saints will be on the hook for more to Derek Carr who was comparable to Wilson in nearly the same amount of starts.

Steeler Nation is under the impression that the Steelers' franchise quarterback void is a consequence of their lack of will rather than a result of the scarcity of these world-class signal callers. The reality is that there are only a handful of these guys around the league. Wilson is unlikely to win the Steelers a Super Bowl in 2025, but shooing him out the door doesn’t guarantee they stumble upon a successor who’ll be more productive with such a feeble collection of talent.

Offensive coordinator Arthur Smith allegedly prefers Justin Fields, as his Steel City Marcus Mariota, however, the Fields played at the level Mariota did for Smith in Atlanta, but with better name recognition. The Steel City is down on Wilson after their offense deteriorated in the final quarter of the season but unless they're joining a bid for Sam Darnold, Wilson might be their best option for 2025. Fields is a gamble on a future Tomlin may not have in Pittsburgh. It’s unrealistic to put Super Bowl-or-bust expectations on Wilson in 2025, but the offense does have to show significant improvement en route to ending their playoff win drought.

James Daniels

Daniels’ three-year, $26.5 million deal with the Steelers expires this summer and the Steelers. While Daniels, 27, was injured for most of the 2024 campaign, he was one of the Steelers best offensive linemen during his first two seasons in Pittsburgh. Interior pass rushers around the league are becoming just as dangerous as edge rushers and Daniels only allowed three sacks during his first three seasons in Steelers trenches. 

The emergence of rookie Mason McCormick makes re-signing Daniels less urgent, however, McCormick shifting to cover for Daniels left a vacancy on the left side. Over the Cap's Nick Korte identified Daniels’ 31-year-old associate in the trenches, Isaac Seumalo as a possible cap casualty which provides the Steelers with even more of an incentive to loop Daniels back in before he hits the free market.