It’s never too early to think about Pittsburgh Steelers football and project just what exactly the roster will look like next season, especially because for the first time in a long time, there's a question mark at the quarterback position. Since we’re still approximately two months from the start of NFL Free Agency and three months from the NFL Draft, we will stick to the guys under contract that seemingly will be back.
We’ll start on the offensive side of the ball where most key playmakers return. The outcome of JuJu Smith-Schuster’s contract situation has yet to be determined, but the team returns Chase Claypool, Diontae Johnson, and of course rookies Najee Harris and Pat Freiermuth. The 3/5 returning starting offensive linemen will have a chance to grow in Kevin Dotson, Dan Moore Jr., and Kendrick Green. Zach Banner and Joe Haeg are two guys currently under contract for the 2022-2023 season that are question marks. The Steelers will presumably make additions to this offensive line that struggled but showed some signs of promise.
The elephant in the room of course is the quarterback position. For the first time in at least 18 years, we are uncertain who the starter will be next year without Big Ben returning. Mason Rudolph is currently the only QB under contract for next year. The team will certainly make moves at the position by way of the draft and/or free agency.
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The defensive side of the ball has less question marks, but still plenty of their own. Almost the entire defensive line is under contract for the upcoming season in Cam Heyward, Tyson Alualu, Chris Wormley, Isaiahh Loudermilk, TJ Watt and Alex Highsmith. With the return of Stephon Tuitt in question, defensive line is a place the Steelers could look to make additions to.
Devin Bush and Joe Schobert are both under contract and expected to return to the Steelers in 2022, but with up and down play throughout the year, and in Schobert's case a $10M cap hit, ILB is a position the Steelers may key in on in the off-season.
The biggest question marks come in the secondary, however. With Joe Haden's deal running up and the Steelers only returning Cam Sutton, James Pierre, and Justin Layne at the cornerback position, it is a likely candidate to be near the top of the Steelers off-season needs. Back and currently on the last year of his rookie deal is Minkah Fitzpatrick, along side rookie Tre Noorwood who showed some flashes of promise in the secondary. The big question mark at the safety position is Terrell Edmunds and if he returns. Edmunds is set to be a free agent in March.
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On the special teams side of things, Chris Boswell returns for what is currently his last year under contract. Rookie punter Pressley Harvin III enters year two coming off a shaky rookie season. Return man Ray-Ray McCloud is currently set to become a free agent in March as well.
The Steelers have a few questions marks headed into the 2022 NFL season, but with plenty of key guys returning, it's easy to be optimistic about next year. At least a couple of those questions will have to be answered correctly if the Steelers want to find themselves in the playoffs for a third consecutive season. The Steelers currently have $41.9M in cap space for the 2022 season (per Over The Cap) to shape the roster for next season. The next couple of months will hopefully bring a lot of optimism about Steeler football!
Let us know what moves you think the Steelers should make in the comments below!
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