Now when Pittsburgh SteelersThe 2024 season has come to an end after the ugly wildcard loss against Baltimore Ravens on Saturday night, it’s time for the Steelers to turn their attention to the offseason.
Pittsburgh will look to add help to its roster through free agency and the 2025 NFL Draft, but general manager Omar Khan must also make decisions on a number of the team’s own free agents.
A total of 19 players who were on the active roster for the Steelers’ season-ending loss to the Ravens are set for free agency, with 16 unrestricted free agents while two are exclusive rights and one is restricted.
Here’s a look at the entire group, with the roster coming from Spotrac.
Steelers unrestricted free agents
QB Russell Wilson
QB Kyle Allen
QB Justin Fields
RB Najee Harris
WR Van Jefferson
WR Mike Williams
TE MyCole Pruitt
G James Daniels
G Nate Herbig
OT Dan Moore Jr.
DL Isaiahh Loudermilk
LB Elandon Roberts
LB Tyler Matakevich
CB Donte Jackson
CB Cameron Sutton
S Damontae Kazee
Steelers exclusive rights free agents
C Ryan McCollum
OLB Jeremiah Moon
Steelers restricted free agents
RB Jaylen Warren
MORE: Steelers 3-round postseason mock draft
NFL free agency definitions
In case you’re not familiar, here’s a look at definitions for the three types of free-agent tags, according to NFL.com.
Unrestricted Free Agent (UFA): All players with four or more earned seasons and an expired contract; free to negotiate and sign with any team.
Restricted Free Agent (RFA): A player with three earned seasons and an expired contract. RFAs are free to negotiate and sign with any team, but their original team can offer them one of various qualifying offers (“tenders”) that come with rights of first refusal and/or draft compensation. If the tender is withdrawn by a team, the RFA becomes an unrestricted free agent.
Exclusive Rights Free Agent (ERFA): All players with less than three earned seasons and an expired contract. If his original team offers him a minimum one-year contract (based on his credited seasons), the player cannot negotiate with other teams.
The Steelers’ biggest free-agent decision
The biggest decision on the roster comes at quarterback, where the Steelers must decide if Russell Wilson is the guy to take them forward. From what we saw over the last five weeks of the season, it doesn’t look like he is.
“(Pittsburgh is) a special place with special guys,” Wilson said, per Brian Batko of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “You have a special coach in Coach Tomlin, you have a special organization, special people, special players and a special fan base. It’s really been a blessing in my life, it’s been one of the best years for me personally. , who a Pittsburgh Steeler I obviously hope I’m here.”
We wouldn’t expect Fields to be back. After all, even with all the struggles the Steelers offense had during the season, it still wasn’t enough to get him the football. He will look for a chance to start elsewhere.
Pittsburgh would be wise to let Harris go. He’s a solid player but not a true difference maker, and the Steelers can’t afford to spend precious cap space on someone they can replace with a cheaper option, like a draft pick, for example.
“I haven’t given it much thought,” Harris said when asked about his future with the team, per Chris Adamski of TribLive.com.
At wide receiver, neither Jefferson nor Williams need to be brought back. It was abundantly clear that neither was an impact player. Pittsburgh needs to do much better at wide receiver in 2025.
Along the offensive line, the emergence of Mason McCormick and the presence of Troy Fautanu make Daniels and Moore useless. Roberts is a good player but could be replaced by Payton Wilson, who was impressive in Year 1.
Jackson got off to a strong start with the Steelers, but he didn’t play well late in the season, leaving his status up in the air. We wouldn’t be surprised if Pittsburgh went in a different direction. Even at cornerback, Sutton can be shown the door.
Last but not least, Kazee is someone the Steelers could bring back. He is a solid piece on the back end.
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