PITTSBURGH — It’s coming up on two years since Omar Khan became the general manager of the Pittsburgh Steelers, yet he has had only one offseason to put his full stamp on the organization during free agency and the NFL Draft.
Khan has always had somewhat of a say in free agency, especially with contract negotiations. In his second time around as GM, it is either a crazy coincidence or the product of great planning that the Steelers don’t have many unrestricted free agents whose departures could significantly hinder any given position.
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For the first time in recent memory, the Steelers don’t have a full-time starter set to hit free agency.
The Steelers will have 14 unrestricted free agents when the new league year hits on March 13. It is safe to say that not one of them — other than maybe Mason Rudolph — will drastically affect their plans moving forward.
Now, there are other businesses for Khan to attend to, like restructuring contracts (T.J. Watt, Alex Highsmith and Minkah Fitzpatrick), potential extensions (Cameron Heyward, Pat Freiermuth, James Daniels and Diontae Johnson) and picking up Najee Harris’ fifth-year option.
But when it comes to their own, there is no Cameron Sutton, JuJu Smith-Schuster, Bud Dupree or Mike Hilton out there for the Steelers to retain. (Players’ ages are in parentheses.)
1. QB Mason Rudolph (28)
If the Steelers want Rudolph back to compete with Kenny Pickett for the starter job legitimately, they can surely make that happen before the opening of free agency. All it would take is an offer that Rudolph couldn’t refuse along with a scout’s honor promise that there would be an open competition.
Both of those things land squarely on the organization, and if you listen to Mike Tomlin and Art Rooney II, they want to re-sign Rudolph, especially with the uncertainty surrounding Pickett and Rudolph’s strong finish to the season.
“Rudolph came in and showed I think what we’re capable of when we do get quality play at the quarterback position,” Rooney said last week. “Appreciate what Mason did. We’re interested in bringing Mason back.”
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Rudolph, whose story has been well documented, had a chance to test free agency last year but decided that his best option was to return to the Steelers on an all-but-guaranteed $1 million deal.
As it looked like Rudolph’s career was winding down, he got a chance to start against the Bengals following Pickett’s injury and Mitch Trubisky’s ineffectiveness. He led the Steelers to back-to-back 30-point games and threw for over 270 yards in each before grinding out a bad-weather win against the Ravens to get Pittsburgh into the playoffs.
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Rudolph isn’t a must-sign considering that all indications do point toward Pickett getting reinstated as the QB1 during the spring, but it wouldn’t be a bad idea to get in front of it early in the process and bring him back. A non-strike record of 66 quarterbacks started a game in 2023, suggesting every team needs more than one capable quarterback on the roster.
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The catch with Rudolph is the small sample size of success. Is that worth a starting spot somewhere else as a bridge quarterback? The Steelers gave Trubisky a two-year, $14 million deal, then tore it up after last season and added two more years. Trubisky was more accomplished when he signed, but something in the neighborhood of two years and $10 million should get the deal done with Rudolph, who has made just under $10 million in his six-year NFL career.
2. CB Levi Wallace (28)
The Steelers would love to have Wallace back, but surely he’s not at the top of their free-agent priority list even after a season in which he started nine games and played in 16, logging 69 percent of the defensive snaps. With the emergence of Joey Porter Jr. as the clear No. 1 cornerback, the Steelers have the luxury to experiment with their No. 2 guy.
Wallace shouldn’t be in high demand, which would allow the Steelers to snoop around free agency for somebody younger with more upside. They were linked to now free-agent cornerback Jaylon Johnson at the trade deadline, but nothing progressed to the point of making a deal. Johnson’s price tag — if the Bears let him get that far — would likely be too hefty for the Steelers to be a legitimate player.
Wallace had six interceptions and 24 pass defenses in his two years with the Steelers. In 2023, he allowed 40 completions on 75 targets for 569 yards and six touchdowns, per Pro Football Reference.
3. ILB Kwon Alexander (29)
Alexander was a late signing by the Steelers to provide depth but moved into being a rotational player before tearing his Achilles in November. Alexander played 56 percent of the defensive snaps in nine games, collecting 41 tackles and a sack as he solidified a unit that was suspect coming into the season.
Recovering from an Achilles injury suffered late in the season is tricky. He could be ready for the start of the 2024 season, but his spring and summer reps would be limited. With only Elandon Roberts coming back healthy — as Cole Holcomb will likely take more time to heal from his leg injury — the Steelers need help at inside linebacker … but maybe not with a banged-up and aging Alexander.
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4. S/ST Miles Killebrew (30)
Killebrew is coming off an All-Pro and Pro Bowl season as a special teamer. He is quite valuable for special teams coach Danny Smith, but he has played just 757 defensive snaps in his eight-year career (including 111 this season). He is important to the Steelers, and he shouldn’t command a lot of money on the open market.
5. DL Montravius Adams (28)
Adams missed four games with an injury but was productive when healthy and still played close to 500 snaps. Even though the Steelers have Keeanu Benton at nose tackle now, Adams’ versatility to play nose, end, and in pass situations makes him intriguing. With an aging defensive line and the possibility that Larry Ogunjobi will be a cap casualty, every defensive lineman on the Steelers’ roster is valuable.
6. OLB Markus Golden (32)
Golden was brought in to provide depth. It turned out that Watt and Highsmith combined for 1,841 out of a possible 2,258 snaps, leaving little room for Golden to get on the field. He did play in 16 games and had four sacks in limited pass-rushing attempts. But with Nate Herbig having a promising rookie year, there’s no real hurry to pay another outside linebacker more than the league minimum.
7. DB Chandon Sullivan (27)
Sullivan was brought on last year to provide help as a nickel corner and quietly had a solid year. After a season where he was one of the most targeted defensive backs in the league in 2022, he saw only 28 passes come his way, allowing 17 receptions and making one interception. But he is what he is — a role player. The one thing on Sullivan’s side is the Steelers don’t have an experienced true nickel on the roster. Patrick Peterson could play a hybrid role like he did when he wasn’t forced to play safety this season.
8. DB James Pierre (27)
Once a promising young talent, Pierre has been relegated mostly to special teams since getting burned for a couple of touchdowns by Tee Higgins and benched in 2021. Pierre played only 26 defensive snaps last year compared to 269 special teams snaps.
9. DL Armon Watts (27)
Watts played more early in the season with Heyward out compared to down the stretch. He had only 22 snaps over the final three games against run-heavy teams, which is not a good sign of what the Steelers think of him moving forward. However, Watts is young, won’t cost much (likely the league minimum) and plays on the defensive line, which should be valuable to the Steelers. He had 15 tackles and three quarterback hits in 15 games this season.
10. WR Miles Boykin (27)
Boykin is one of the league’s better special teams players, and that’s where his worth is. He did get some reps at receiver in 2023, but his 316 special teams snaps trailed only Herbig and Killebrew for the most on the team. The Steelers had one of the NFL’s best special teams units in 2023.
(Photo: Kirby Lee / USA Today)
