Category: 2023 Steelers roster

Steelers linebackers looking great heading into 2024

PFF ranked the Steelers linebackers as 13th-best in the NFL for the upcoming season.

Last season we all applauded the Pittsburgh Steelers for the moves they made to improve the inside linebacker depth chart. The team added Cole Holcomb, Kwon Alexander and Elandon Roberts and despite the injury bug mowing through them, this group was better than what we’d seen in several seasons.

But this offseason, with Alexander gone and Holcomb still recovering from injury, the team basically had to start over. The front office made a huge signing with Patrick Queen coming over from the Baltimore Ravens and then drafted Payton Wilson in the third round of the 2024 NFL draft.

Pro Football Focus ranked the linebacker units and for the Steelers, they were fair with their ranking of No. 13 in the NFL which worked out to No. 8 in the AFC. Here’s what they had to say about the rankings:

The Steelers made a splash at the linebacker position this offseason by bringing in Patrick Queen from the division-rival Baltimore Ravens. Queen has improved every season since entering the league and is coming off a career-high 73.0 PFF grade. He has yet to turn 25 years old, so it’s reasonable to expect that he will continue to get better. Alongside him, Elandon Roberts posted a career-high 72.2 PFF grade on 622 snaps in 2023.

If a few things fall right, this group will end up far outplaying the ranking. Holcomb could still be ready to play this season and he adds significant athleticism and if Wilson is as good as advertised, he might take Roberts’ starting spot next to Queen.

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Steelers 2023 end of the season superlatives

Let’s hand out our awards for the Steelers at the end of the season.

The 2023 Pittsburgh Steelers season is in the books and so it is time for us to hand out our end-of-the-season superlatives. There were some exceptional performances this season but not enough to help the Steelers get their first playoff win since 2016.

Looking at the Steelers final PFF grades on offense

The Steelers offense struggled in 2023.

Pro Football Focus is one of those sites that put in a tremendous amount of work into creating player grades for every NFL player week after week and for the entire season. It’s a massive process and their player grades are completely polarizing among the NFL.

The Pittsburgh Steelers offense was underwhelming to say the least. Here’s how PFF broke down the grades for the Steelers offensive stars.

Steelers final 2024 stats – Defense

Here is how the Steelers top defenders finished statistically.

Defensively, the Pittsburgh Steelers were an inconsistent, banged-up group in 2023. The unit as a whole endured so many injuries and still figured out a way to be sixth in the NFL in scoring, which is to be applauded. Here is how the player stats broke down for the top defenders from last season.

Steelers final 2024 stats – Offense

The Steelers defensive grades were dominated by its edge rushers.

The Pittsburgh Steelers offense struggled for much of the 2023 season. Why did it struggle? That is a point of debate but it’s safe to say it was a combination of factors that led to the problems. Here’s how the offensive stars finished.

Steelers S Damontae Kazee suspended for remainder of season

Damontae Kazee will miss the Steelers final three games and any potential playoff games.

Pittsburgh Steelers Damontae Kazee has been suspended for the remainder of the regular season and any potential playoff games per a memo sent out by the NFL. Kazee was ejected for a hit on Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr. on Saturday.

Here is the statement from the NFL:

Damontae Kazee of the Pittsburgh Steelers has been suspended
without pay for the remainder of the regular season and any potential postseason games for repeated violations of playing rules intended to protect the health and safety of players, including during this Saturday’s game against the Indianapolis Colts

Here is a portion of the letter sent to Kazee from NFL Vice President of Football Operations Jon Runyan:

“With 8:49 remaining in the 2nd quarter, you were involved in a play that the League considers a serious violation of the playing rules. The video of the play shows that you delivered a forcible blow to the head/neck area of Colts’ receiver Michael Pittman Jr., who was in a defenseless posture. You had an unobstructed path to your opponent and the illegal contact could have been avoided. Your actions were flagrant, and as a result, you were disqualified from the game.”

In his Monday press conference, head coach Mike Tomlin defended Kazee noting he is not a dirty player. Kazee definitely plays in that gray area and his history of plays like this contributed to this decision.

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5 players the Steelers need more from down the stretch

Pittsburgh needs guys like Alex Highsmith and Calvin Austin III to step up their games in these final six games.

With six games left to play, the Pittsburgh Steelers find themselves in a great position to make a late push and cement their spot in the playoffs. But if the Steelers are going to keep winning, they need more from these five players down the stretch.

Steelers offensive stat projections with 7 games left to play

We hope the changes on the coaching staff will help boost these projections for the Steelers.

With the huge changes on the Pittsburgh Steelers coaching staff, we felt it was necessary to update where the players are in terms of their stat projections for the season. Not that Matt Canada is out, we hope to see a surge in yards and points but for now, this is where your top offensive stars are projected to finish.