Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
The Steelers must address the quarterback position this offseason.
One of the biggest issues facing the Pittsburgh Steelers this offseason is what they want to do with the quarterback position. Here is a look at the four different paths the Steelers could consider to get the quarterback position in order.
The Steelers signed 17 players to reserve/futures contracts today.
Orders of business have been underway for the Pittsburgh Steelers offseason and, today, that included signing players to reserve/futures deals. According to NFL reporter Aaron Wilson, the Steelers have secured 17 players for the future.
Players on reserve/futures contracts are not officially under contract until the start of the season. It doesn’t count against the salary cap or the roster limit for the 2023-2024 season. The contract is credited against the 2024-2025 salary cap, and the player counts against the offseason 90-man roster limit.
Once signed to a futures contract, the player cannot negotiate with any other teams.
#Steelers reserve future deals Luq Barcoo, Tyler Beach, Marquez Callaway, Jack Colletto, Kellen Diesch, Jalen Elliott, Joey Fisher, Dez Fitzpatrick, Devery Hamilton, Anderson Hardy, Keilahn Harris, Jonathan Marshall, Ryan McCollum, Denzel Mims, Aaron Shampklin, Jacob Slade, Deuce…
— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) January 17, 2024
Here are the 17 players Pittsburgh signed to reserve/futures contracts:
Three names stand out among 19 Steelers who are set to hit free agency in March.
The Pittsburgh Steelers’ offseason kicked into high gear following their embarrassing loss to the Buffalo Bills in the wild card round on Sunday. The most important task of their offseason — following exit interviews, which are underway this week — is free agency.
Free agency begins with the new NFL year on March 13 at 4 p.m. Eastern.
There are no splashy names on this list, but three players stand out: Quarterback Mason Rudolph, inside linebacker Kwon Alexander and outside linebacker Markus Golden.
Here are the Steelers’ 19 players currently set to test the free-agent market.
Should the Steelers go outside of their organization for an OC for the first time in a dozen years (Todd Haley, 2012), their options could be limited.
Should the Pittsburgh Steelers go outside their organization for an offensive coordinator for the first time in a dozen years (Todd Haley, 2012), their options could be limited.
It doesn’t look like it now, but Mike Tomlin and the Steelers are beholden to Kenny Pickett as QB1 in 2024. They invested a first-round draft pick on him, and we all know how rare it is for Tomlin to walk back a decision like that, no matter what the consequences.
The Athletic’s Mark Kaboly feels Pickett as the cemented starter could weed out some quality candidates.
“I think there will be some candidates out there who would only take the job if Pickett wasn’t the starter,” Kaboly wrote in a recent mailbag. “If that’s the case, then the Steelers wouldn’t hire them. Like it or not, Pickett is going to be a part of this team for the next two years and could very well be inserted back into the starting lineup next year, so the new OC had better like what he’s seen out of KP.”
Tomlin won’t hand over the keys of the offense to a new coordinator. Candidates — and there are plenty newly out of work — who want to come in with their own vision at QB will have to look elsewhere.
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Here are the inactive players for the Pittsburgh Steelers’ wild card matchup with the Buffalo Bills.
Despite the loss of T.J. Watt, the Pittsburgh Steelers are in a favorable position injury-wise — more so than a lot of teams at this point of the season. He’s the only player not a healthy scratch as the Steelers take on the Buffalo Bills in hopes of advancing to the playoff’s divisional round.
Here’s the full list of Pittsburgh’s inactives:
Prayers up for the Pittsburgh Steelers!
Update: According to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, the Pittsburgh Steelers landed safely in Buffalo.
While the good people of Buffalo are concerned about how a game will take place in a town that’s been pummeled with over a foot of snow, the Pittsburgh Steelers had to be concerned about getting there.
That process began around 3 p.m. Upon their arrival, Mayor Byron Brown said the Steelers will have the support of officials to arrive safely at their hotel and tomorrow’s game.
Orchard Park has been blasted with four to six inches of snow per hour over the last 24 hours. Snow could lessen in the overnight hours to one to three inches per hour.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul said in a press conference that in-game wind chill temperatures could be near zero degrees, but weather conditions should no longer be life-threatening.
“I’m not saying it’s going to be pleasant, but conditions won’t be life-threatening,” Hochul said.
All-Pro Killebrew ready for takeoff 🫡 pic.twitter.com/JnoXAEoqDt
— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) January 14, 2024
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Advantage: Buffalo Bills
The NFL’s decision to postpone the Pittsburgh Steelers-Buffalo Bills Wild Card game isn’t sitting well with fans. Blizzard-like conditions were a significant advantage for Pittsburgh, given the emergence of their ground game, but now the playing field has been leveled.
There are many reasons why this decision is inconvenient, but what it comes down to is the safety of those traveling to the game.
Here are some of our favorite reactions to the postponement.
2024 is the final year of Cam Heyward’s contract, which carries a base salary of $16 million.
Cameron Heyward has been pondering retirement for a while now. It’s just that point in his career. He turns 35 this spring and has had 13 (mostly) wildly successful seasons. There’s no question he could retire with his head held high.
But in the meantime, Heyward is owed a hefty salary in 2024 — to the tune of $16 million. With a $6.40 million bonus, the $22.40 million cap hit is 9.2% of Pittsburgh’s total cap space. He’s the second-highest-paid player after T.J. Watt.
Mark Kaboly, Steelers insider for The Athletic, thinks Heyward will get a contract extension.
“I can see him being extended before I can see him being released,” he wrote in a recent mailbag. “I admit, he’s struggled this year, but a lot of that has to do with his injury and subsequent recovery from surgery.”
“Heyward loves this game too much to quit now, and no way in hell are the Steelers cutting a player who has meant so much to them over the years. [Owner Art] Rooney would rather eat that salary than cut him.”
But ask Hines Ward and Troy Polamalu if they “meant so much” to the Steelers at the end of their careers and wanted to continue playing. If they don’t extend him, they could force him to retire like they did Ward and Polamalu.
Like Ward and Polamalu, it’s tough to imagine Heyward putting on any other jersey but the Black and Gold. If they were to approach him about being released, it seems he’d much rather call it a career.
Heyward is only one season removed from 10.5 sacks, so it’s not impossible to think if he returns in 2024, he could still make an impact.
Until his future is decided, Heyward and the Pittsburgh Steelers have only one focus: Beat the Buffalo Bills.
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Here’s a look at how things are shaping up injury-wise for Steelers-Bills on Sunday.
The second day of Wild Card Week practice was a solid one for the Pittsburgh Steelers. All players participated with the exception of T.J. Watt and Cam Heyward.
Here’s the full rundown:
Spotrac forecasts what the future holds contractually for Steelers QBs Kenny Pickett, Mason Rudolph and Mitch Trubisky.
It’s looking like the Pittsburgh Steelers will have to do everything in their power to keep Mason Rudolph under contract beyond the 2023 season. He signed a one-year deal in May and will likely have plenty of demand for his services in 2024. While he may not be deemed starter-worthy — unless he knocks the socks off in the postseason — he’ll at least have a chance to go in and compete. That’s not a guarantee in Pittsburgh.
It certainly doesn’t seem like it right now, but the starting gig will be Kenny Pickett‘s job to lose come training camp. Unless Mike Tomlin suddenly changes his stubborn ways, there won’t be a quarterback competition. If there is, it’ll be similar to what we saw (didn’t see) between Mitch Trubisky, Pickett and Rudolph in 2022: All lip service.
Only it’s a foregone conclusion that Trubisky won’t be in the mix this year.
Spotrac’s Michael Ginnitti predicts that Trubisky will be given his walking papers prior to when his $1 million roster bonus kicks in in March. With that, he sees Rudolph inking another one-year deal to the tune of $2.5 million to back Pickett up.
“Kenny Pickett carries a fully guaranteed two years, $4.6M, and should regain his starting gig next spring,” Ginnitti wrote. “2024 will be a pivotal year for the future of Pickett in Pitt. Mitchell Trubisky holds a non-guaranteed two years, $11.25M (incredibly).”
My feeling is that it’ll take more than $2.5 million to keep Rudolph in the Pittsburgh saddle. He doesn’t require developing to the point that Pickett still does and has outperformed both the second-year QB and the former first-round pick.
As much as the Steelers could use Rudolph as an insurance policy for when Pickett inevitably gets hurt, he deserves better — personally and professionally — than how Pittsburgh has treated him over the years.
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