Harrison: Steelers' 2026 Offseason Is Reminiscent Of "When Ben [Roethlisberger] First Came"

The Pittsburgh Steelers have been very active in the 2026 free agency period, as they have made many moves to make sure that they don't have to reach for need in the upcoming NFL Draft. They started it off by executing a big trade for Michael Pittman Jr. before immediately extending him. They loaded up on many Steeler-like players on both offense and defense: gritty, physical, and explosive if you take them too lightly. The quarterback position is still a big question mark, but everything else has been seemingly mastery from the front office. 

On Monday's episode of Deebo & Joe, former linebacker James Harrison explained how this offseason was very similar to the one he witnessed in 2004.

"This reminds me of when Ben [Roethlisberger] first came in," Harrison said. "We had a strong run game with Bussy [Jerome Bettis], with [Willie] Parker. We run, we run, run, run. They say, 'Oh sh*t, they're running on us. Eight, nine in the box.' BOOM and then we bomb on them."

That notion from Harrison stemmed from the Steelers picking up running back Rico Dowdle in free agency to be a complement in the power run game to Jaylen Warren. Even with an offensive-minded head coach that is seen as a quarterback whisperer, the philosophy is still the same. The Steelers want to be able to run smash-mouth football to tire out the defense and then hit deep passes when opponents sell out on the run. 

Even with a scheme that seems to work more with 11 personnel, the Steelers still want to be able to run the ball when everyone knows that is what their play call is. Both Warren and Dowdle have the ability to put their heads down and barrel through the trenches to get extra yards. It will have to take more than one player to stop them in their tracks and limit them to a minimal gain. That's what the Steelers did in the 2000s. Jerome Bettis and Willie Parker were so efficient with the run that opposing defenses had no choice but to sell out and force then-rookie quarterback Ben Roethlisberger to beat them with his arm. 

The hope for opponents was that they could fool the inexperienced young passer into bad decisions, while stopping the most dangerous part of the game. Spoiler: that didn't work. The Steelers ended up winning Super Bowl XL just one season later.

Roethlisberger won his first 13 games of his career. His first loss was in the AFC Championship Game to the eventual Super Bowl champions, the New England Patriots. The very next year, he helped lead his team to its own Super Bowl victory as mentioned. The run game did its thing, and Roethlisberger aired the ball all over the field whenever the opposing defense allowed him to.

Steelers' Gameplan Likely Won't Work The Same In 2026

The problem in recreating the 2004 strategy lies at the quarterback position. The Steelers are expecting Aaron Rodgers to return, and he is not exactly young anymore. At 42-years-old, he is more interested in getting the ball out quickly than deceiving the defense, as shown by the fact that he had the quickest snap-to-throw time in the NFL in 2025. That does not work well for these long-developing play-action calls. 

If he does not sign, then Will Howard will likely get the nod. He may have the arm strength to do that, but he's also not a bona fide first-round pick with elite upside. He's a 2025 sixth-round selection who just wants one chance to prove that he can be a capable starter. Setting up the run game will help for sure, but expecting him to recreate what Roethlisberger did is not exactly the best plan of attack here.

What do you think about Harrison saying that the 2026 Steelers look like the 2004 version? Let us know on X at @Steelers_ChrisB.

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