The 2024 season is officially over and once again the Pittsburgh Steelers are packing up their lockers early. It is something that has become an unfortunate trend for a team once considered amongst the best in the NFL. After another year that has ended in a double digit wildcard playoff loss, it has now been nearly a decade since the Steelers last tasted victory in the postseason. To be exact, it was in January 2017 beating the Kansas City Chiefs 18-16 and since then the now still running record stands at 0-6.
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Punchless Pittsburgh Steelers Lose in Playoffs
The only thing worse than six straight losses and five one and done efforts would be how the Steelers teams looked in each of those losses. All but one, a 45-42 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars, have been one sided affairs for their opponents. With all of this negativity clouding the once proud franchise there is one true question that the fan base has. What will the Steelers do?
The end of the season presser has come and gone with little to no insight gained from listening to Mike Tomlin play word salad with every question that was asked. Whether it was the subject of the quarterback situation, another postseason failure, or personnel changes to the staff, Tomlin danced around them all giving up no indication of the direction of the team. However, upon being asked about teams inquiring about trading for the coach himself, he was very direct in answering that any team wondering that should save some time.

This implies that he has no intention of leaving the team before next season and with a no trade clause in his contract the ball is completely in his court. Even with no real answers given there is one thing that everyone watching the Steelers already knows. This offseason is huge for the organization and even bigger than last year’s assumed heavy offseason. This year leaves even more in the balance especially with the shouts becoming bigger by the day for the team to move on from Tomlin.
A team that is made up financially with the defense carrying most of the bill, the available cap space heading into the offseason is a respectable $52,353,766 at the time of writing this article. The list of needs for the team is pretty large when considering all of the players with expiring contracts though. The major spots of concern for them would have to be the quarterback and running back slots with every primary starter(s) being on the pending free agent list.
It would be assumed that pending wide receivers should have Pittsburgh thinking fast about next season as well. Mike Williams is assumed to be re-signed considering he was just acquired in season from LA, but this leaves to question the futures of Scotty Miller and Van Jefferson. It seems to make sense that they will go heavy into free agency to fill the holes on the team considering they hold the 21st pick in the upcoming draft. Many want the team to re-sign quarterback Justin Fields and give him the starting job next season. With his age, if it would work out for the Steelers, Fields could be the long term answer.
Offensive Overhaul Coming?
No matter who the starting quarterback for the Steelers is next year, they will need guys to throw to. George Pickens has shown glimpses of elite play at times, however he has also shown moments of immaturity, inability to control his emotions, and instances of quitting mid play. Assuming, and that’s a big assumption, he is the long term solution at wide receiver it’s been shown Pickens is at his best as the number two pass catcher.
Hopefully Mike Williams is re-signed and then the Steelers will have two solid options already locked into the roster. Regardless of what happens in house with the wide receiver room there will be a number of options in free agency. Among the the top available would be Tee Higgins, Amari Cooper, and Chris Godwin.
Now with the running back position that’s where things could really go either way. Najee Harris has accumulated over one thousand rushing yards in each season of his NFL career, but the last two years he has seemed to fall off down the stretch of the season. This is where you insert Jaylen Warren who has picked up the slack and by all accounts is the better pass blocker between the two.
Jaylen also seems to excel in the receiving game from out of the backfield. To be honest it would not be a surprise if both were kept and brought back on team friendly deals. It helps that they both already know the offense and have been productive as a one-two punch. For running backs the free agency pool does have a few options the Steelers could explore with Jeff Wilson, Javonte Williams, and Alexander Mattison all being available. At this point the odds of having the same or completely different backfield is probably a toss up.
Offensive Line Needs Work
The last area the Steelers have to address to have a better offensive output in 2025 is the offensive line. It has been a subject of concern for years under Mike Tomlin and while attempts have been made, they have all resulted in no noticeable improvement. For starters it appears that Tomlin is holding onto hope that right tackle Broderick Jones can clean up his game, much like what was done with linebacker Devin Bush before letting him go.
It is understood that while the Steelers do have a relatively young line with drafting in recent years it again has not developed for the better like most hoped would happen. Add in the fact that starting left tackle Dan Moore Jr. is on the free agent list it seems that the tackle position should be the main focus for the offensive line.
At center Zach Frazier did go through some growing pains throughout the last year but was still considered a top player at the position. Luckily for the organization it appears he has a high ceiling and can be the long term answer moving forward as long as he continues to improve. If they are looking at bringing in a replacement for Jones at right tackle a better option would be Joseph Noteboom who under Sean McVay has been a career swing tackle.
Defense Wins Championships…or Does it?
For a team that not only has a rich history of defense but also has the most expensive defensive roster currently, it is good news for them that T.J. Watt’s contract isn’t
up until next season. While they do have Donte Jackson, Cameron Sutton, and Damontae Kazee to think about out of the defensive backfield, odds are the Steelers are eyeing to upgrade anyway with how bad they played against the pass the last month and a half of the season.
With one of the best linebacking corps in the NFL not too much should change this offseason minus who the depth players are depending on how negotiations go. There is one player defensively that all fans are keeping an eye on and he’s been an anchor on the line for over a decade, Cam Heyward. This past season, while playing at the age of 35, was another great year for the veteran and proved he is still an elite player. Going into this past season it was questioned if it would be his last so obviously that same thought is in the air again.
The draft is something that some teams excel in while others always seem to struggle. For the Steelers it wouldn’t be fair to dismiss their drafting abilities, at least not in all positions. That’s what makes this hard to figure out what would be the best strategy for them to take heading into the draft.
They are sitting with the 21st overall pick in the first round, a spot in the high teens through early twenties that has been the norm for Pittsburgh. While it keeps them from getting one of the top talents headlining this year it is still a great spot to try and find what they have drafted well- a wide receiver.
In mock drafts across a few different platforms the general mindset is that pass catchers Emeka Egbuka, Jalen Royals, and Tre Harris should all still be available in that pick range. All three wide receivers are taller and have strength to back it up. In the second round many believe the target will be a defensive or offensive tackle, leaning into the need they have on the offensive line. For some of the later rounds the assumption is they will try to get added depth for positions like cornerback where some players could be gone via contracts.
Only time will tell what the Steelers have in mind to shake things up and have a better season next year. In all fairness they were on track for a division championship and as late as mid November had a realistic chance of stealing the number one seed from the Chiefs.
Regardless of what happens in free agency or the draft it is obvious that the Steelers won’t just be focusing on winning games next season but specifically winning games in December and hopefully get that coveted victory in the postseason. There is a lot on the line for the entire franchise next year and depending on how things go will make future years more clear on which direction the team is headed.
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