The Pittsburgh Steelers should just make Mike Tomlin coach for life. They’re never going to find someone better. Tomlin kept a team with a rookie quarterback, a bad offensive line, and a banged-up defense in the playoff race through Week 18.
That’s impressive. So what’s next in Pittsburgh? We break it all down in our Steelers offseason preview, exploring the team’s free agents, cut candidates, team needs, and more.
Pittsburgh Steelers Offseason Preview: Pickett’s Charge
Kenny Pickett was not particularly effective or efficient as a rookie. His passer rating and QBR were both pedestrian, at best. But he improved as the season went on — the Steelers are likely to be patient with their 2022 first-round pick. If the bottom had fallen out, it’s conceivable they would have picked high enough that taking another quarterback in 2023 wouldn’t have been out of the question.
They won too many games for that to even be a consideration, so instead, they should use their seven draft picks — including four in the first two days — and manageable cap space to build around their young quarterback.
Steelers’ 2023 Salary Cap Space
According to Spotrac, the Steelers were under the 2023 salary cap by $13.1 million as of early January, giving them the 18th-most cap space in the NFL.
That figure reflects $6.4 million in dead cap and $4.6 million in rollover space. It is based on an estimated $225 million NFL salary cap in 2023.
The exact cap figure will not be known until the NFL announces it in early March.
Steelers Free Agents 2023
The following Steelers players are set to hit free agency. (Restricted free agents are noted with the abbreviation RFA, exclusive rights free agents by ERFA.)
- S Marcus Allen
- DE Tyson Alualu
- WR Miles Boykin
- LB Devin Bush
- G Jesse Davis
- S Terrell Edmunds
- TE Zach Gentry
- C J.C. Hassenauer (RFA)
- LB Jamir Jones (ERFA)
- SS Karl Joseph
- S Damontae Kazee
- DE Larry Ogunjobi
- CB James Pierre (RFA)
- OLB Malik Reed
- QB Mason Rudolph
- G Trenton Scott
- RB Benny Snell Jr.
- LB Robert Spillane
- CB Cameron Sutton
- FB Derek Watt
- DT Chris Wormley
Cornerback Cameron Sutton
Spotrac’s calculated market value: Three years, $22.9 million ($7.6 million AAV)
Overview: Sutton is coming off arguably the best year of his five-year career and is set to parlay that success into a sizable bump in compensation. If not for the handful of touchdown passes completed in his coverage area, Sutton would have had one of the best coverage stat lines in football.
Defensive Tackle Chris Wormley
Spotrac’s calculated market value: Two years, $11.9 million ($5.9 million AAV)
Overview: The Steelers seem to develop a remarkably high number of impressive defensive linemen. Wormley fit that bill before suffering a torn ACL that prematurely ended his fifth NFL season. Even with the injury uncertainty, Wormley should get a raise over the $2.3 million he earned in 2022.
Potential Cut Candidates
- LB Myles Jack ($8 million in cap savings)
- QB Mitchell Trubisky ($8 million)
- RT Chukwuma Okorafor ($6.9 million)
- CB Levi Wallace ($4 million)
- CB Ahkello Witherspoon ($4 million)
- CB William Jackson ($3.8 million)
- DE Montravius Adams ($2.6 million)
Steelers’ Team Needs Heading Into 2023 Offseason
- Center
- Offensive Tackle
- EDGE
- Cornerback
- Quarterback
