The good, bad of offseason personnel decisions
The Steelers knew it was going to be a turbulent offseason in terms of player movement. President Art Rooney II even predicted several months ago it might be the most difficult salary cap challenge the franchise has faced.
To date, he has been right. But what wasn’t anticipated was where the upheaval would come. Citing what he said were “the makings of a very strong defense” heading into 2021, Rooney said most of the adjustments the Steelers had to make for salary cap purposes “will be on the offensive side.”
After the first full week of free agency, the opposite has happened.
The Steelers have already lost five starters from a defense that ranked as one of the best in the NFL in 2020. They have lost only one starter on offense — tackle Matt Feiler.
Two of the offensive players whose returns weren’t guaranteed — quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and wide receiver JuJu SmithSchuster — are both coming back for one more season. And that has created some tough decisions elsewhere.
Here is a look at the latest player movements — which were the right decisions and which were the wrong ones — by the Steelers.
JuJu Smith-Schuster
Right decision. This was a no- brainer. The Steelers wanted to keep Smith-Schuster all along for one very simple reason: He is their best and most productive receiver. But they thought he might leave in free agency to take an offer they couldn’t match with their current salary cap situation. However, a slow market that has seen teams be reluctant to give out big multiyear contracts made it possible for the Steelers to retain him with a oneyear, $8 million deal.
Smith-Schuster reportedly turned down better oneyear offers from the Kansas City Chiefs and Baltimore Ravens, but those deals wouldn’t have made any sense for him. With the Chiefs, he would have been Patrick Mahomes’ third target at best, behind Tyreek Hill and tight end Travis Kelce. And the Ravens run the ball more often and more productively than any team in the league. Lamar Jackson ranked 24th in pass attempts (2,757) in 2020. If Smith-Schuster is interested in a big free-agent contract in 2022, his best chance is to play this season with Ben Roethlisberger.
Steven Nelson
Wrong decision. Telling Nelson he is free to make his own trade is a precursor to releasing their starting cornerback. On paper, that seems to be the wrong decision. Nelson signed the largest free agent contract awarded by the Steelers — a three-year, $25.5 million deal in 2019 — and his pairing with Joe Haden gave the Steelers one of the best tandem of cornerbacks they’ve had in years. But he was scheduled to earn $8.25 million in salary and count $14.42 million against the cap in 2021. Because both he and Haden were in the final year of their contracts, neither could be restructured to create more cap space. And while the timing of the move makes it appear as if the Steelers made the decision to make room for Smith-Schuster, that is not entirely true. The Steelers knew they were likely going to part with one of their cor-nerbacks for cap purposes, and they chose to keep Haden. That was the right decision.
Zach Banner
Right decision. It’s hard to argue with any deal Banner signed after what he has been through. After reshaping his body and earning a starting spot, he tore his ACL in the opener against the Giants and missed the remainder of the season. The Steelers gave Banner a twoyear, $9.5 million deal, a gamble for a player with one NFL start. However, it amounts to a show-me contract for the 6-foot-8, 353pound tackle because his salary is $1.25 million in 2021 and $5 million in 2022. Even if the Steelers released him after the season, he would count just $1,625,000 against the cap.
Chris Wormley
Wrong decision. The Steelers re-signed Wormley to a two-year, $4.5 million contract after acquiring him from the Baltimore Ravens in 2020. But the only reason they did is because they unexpectedly lost nose tackle Tyson Alualu in free agency. Wormley was injured a lot of last season and played sparingly, appearing for just 148 snaps in 13 games — and 41 of those came in the meaningless season finale.
Joe Haeg
Right decision. The Steelers signed Haeg, 28, to a twoyear, $ 4.6 million deal, which might be a lot for a tackle who has started just nine games the past three seasons. But Haeg, a former fifth-round pick of the Indianapolis Colts, has some versatility as a guard and a tackle-eligible tight end. OK, the signing isn’t a flashy one, but Haeg’s strongest attribute is his mobility, which would make him a good fit for a zone running scheme.
Miles Killebrew
Wrong decision. On paper, Killebrew was a harmless signing — a one-year deal for the veteran minimum. The Steelers view him as a special-teams contributor and a possible backup strong safety/inside linebacker. But they already resigned Marcus Allen, a similar-type hybrid, for that role, and still have ILB Ulysees Gilbert III under contract. Killebrew was a highly regarded coming out in the 2016 draft, but he rarely played in defensive sets for the Detroit Lions.