Over The Cap.<\/a> The biggest savings for the Steelers would be by moving on from linebacker Patrick Queen, which would open up $13 million in cap space, but an extension could be just as likely. The Steelers could also use some of their cap space for extensions to younger players \u2014 cornerback Joey Porter Jr. and linebacker Nick Herbig are both going into the final year of their rookie contracts. Pittsburgh also adjusted Jalen Ramsey\u2019s contract when he was acquired via trade, and no guaranteed money remains after 2025. That could be something revisited this offseason.<\/p>\nAdvertisement<\/p>\n
Key pending free agents<\/p>\n
QB Aaron Rodgers
RB Kenneth Gainwell
OL Isaac Seumalo
S Kyle Dugger
CB James Pierre
CB Asante Samuel Jr.<\/p>\n
Rodgers obviously stands out after signing a one-year deal with Pittsburgh last offseason. His overall NFL future remains unknown, let alone his Steelers one, especially without Mike Tomlin leading the team. In Pittsburgh, Rodgers played his specific brand of football and was 24th in EPA per play among quarterbacks. Gainwell was a Rodgers favorite. He was fifth among running backs in targets and was second on the team in target share. Pierre and Samuel played well in small samples, ranking eighth and 10th in adjusted yards allowed per coverage snap among 138 corners with at least 100 coverage snaps on the season.<\/p>\n
Positional needs<\/p>\n
Wide receiver
Guard
Cornerback<\/p>\n
Advertisement<\/p>\n
The Steelers didn\u2019t have much receiver depth behind DK Metcalf, and that was made even clearer when Metcalf was out. Metcalf had only a 19% target share, but that\u2019s because Rodgers so often throws the check-down to running backs and tight ends. Only Brock Purdy threw a lower percentage of his passes to a wide receiver (41.5%) than Rodgers (42%). Whether Rodgers returns or not, receiver is a huge need.<\/p>\n
With Isaac Seumalo set to be a free agent, the Steelers will need to look at guard. Mason McCormick has shown promise, but the 2024 fourth-round pick ranked 20th in blown block rate at right tackle, according to Sports Info Solutions.<\/p>\n
Pittsburgh is set on one side of the defense with Joey Porter Jr., who had an All-Pro-caliber season. The Steelers rotated through a few options opposite Porter and found some success, but with Pierre and Samuel free agents, Pittsburgh could be in a similar spot again.<\/p>\n
2026 NFL Draft picks<\/p>\n
1st round, pick No. 21
2nd round
3rd round (DAL)
3rd round
3rd round (projected compensatory)
4th round
4th round (projected compensatory)
5th round
6th round (projected compensatory)
6th round (projected compensatory)
7th round (NO)
7th round<\/p>\n
Advertisement<\/p>\n
Good draft fit<\/p>\n
Makai Lemon, WR, USC<\/p>\n
The Steelers need another threat at wide receiver opposite DK Metcalf for whoever the quarterback is after this season. Lemon is a bit smaller (5-11, 195) but he\u2019s really effective from the slot and over the middle, which would complement Metcalf\u2019s outside ability nicely. Lemon also has good after-catch ability and is able to find soft spots in zone.<\/p>\n
Betting nugget<\/p>\n
Surprisingly, for a veteran team, the Steelers thrived this season in games with a rest disadvantage \u2013 going 4-1 against the spread. \u2014 Ben Fawkes<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The NFL offseason has begun, and Yahoo Sports is previewing the coming months for all 32 teams, from…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":84267,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[5004,3269,33417,4701,3616,4997,36310,4967,4977,18911,4989,4992,4979,4994,4990,6538,4970,11944,11882,4976,3283,19983,4987,3281,3273,13240,43555,7405,1418,3285,6645,6734,9075,5005,73,75,74,4981,4986,5003,36812,4978,1829,4999],"class_list":{"0":"post-87298","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-pittsburgh","8":"tag-49ers","9":"tag-aaron-rodgers","10":"tag-afc-east","11":"tag-afc-north","12":"tag-bengals","13":"tag-bills","14":"tag-brock-purdy","15":"tag-broncos","16":"tag-browns","17":"tag-buccaneers","18":"tag-chargers","19":"tag-chiefs","20":"tag-colts","21":"tag-commanders","22":"tag-cowboys","23":"tag-dk-metcalf","24":"tag-giants","25":"tag-green-bay","26":"tag-isaac-seumalo","27":"tag-jaguars","28":"tag-jalen-ramsey","29":"tag-james-pierre","30":"tag-jets","31":"tag-joey-porter-jr","32":"tag-kenneth-gainwell","33":"tag-kyle-dugger","34":"tag-mason-mccormick","35":"tag-mike-tomlin","36":"tag-nfl","37":"tag-nick-herbig","38":"tag-packers","39":"tag-panthers","40":"tag-patrick-queen","41":"tag-patriots","42":"tag-pittsburgh","43":"tag-pittsburgh-headlines","44":"tag-pittsburgh-news","45":"tag-raiders","46":"tag-rams","47":"tag-ravens","48":"tag-saints","49":"tag-seahawks","50":"tag-steelers","51":"tag-texans"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87298","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=87298"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87298\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/84267"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=87298"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=87298"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=87298"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}