“I’d imagine there’s gonna be some things that change around here on a lot of levels.” That was Mike Tomlin’s message after yet another first-round playoff exit. Change didn’t happen overnight, but over the past four months, Omar Khan and the front office thoroughly revamped the roster.
Steelers insider Mark Kaboly thinks they accomplished everything they set out to do this offseason.
“I think they went into the offseason trying to accomplish something in specific positions, specific needs, a specific plan,” Kaboly said via 93.7 The Fan’s PM Team. “And when you put that into context, it’s almost a perfect offseason that they have accomplished everything that they wanted to do…I think they upgraded [the roster] significantly.”
If you go position by position through the entire roster, it’s hard to pick out areas where they took a step back. Losing Minkah Fitzpatrick is the big exception, but they killed two birds with one stone to upgrade both the offense and the cornerback group with Jonnu Smith and Jalen Ramsey. Knowing that they were going to be moving on from George Pickens, they ensured they would at least have a WR1 for the next half decade by trading for DK Metcalf and signing him to a new contract through 2029.
Without a ton of draft capital in 2025, the Steelers loaded up with veteran players at key positions they weren’t going to be able to fix in the draft. Aaron Rodgers and Darius Slay keep them competitive at two key positions without hurting their compensatory draft pick formula for 2026. And they were able to focus the limited draft capital they had in 2025 to address positions of need aligned with the strength of the draft class. Derrick Harmon and Kaleb Johnson figure to play key roles in 2025 and into the Steelers’ next era.
Upgrading the safety position would be the obvious choice if the Steelers want to add one last piece, but that depends on their plans for Jalen Ramsey.
In addition to their signings and trade acquisitions, the Steelers managed to extend some of their key players. T.J. Watt is the biggest example, and the deal they signed him to is very reasonable with just three additional years tacked on.
There’s no such thing as winning the offseason, but the Steelers did just about everything they could to maximize their chances for success in 2025, while keeping options open for 2026 and beyond.
