The Pittsburgh Steelers are facing some important decisions in the off-season, both in the short and long term. After all, the Pennsylvania franchise sees itself as a clear Super Bowl contender even before the draft and the official launch of the Free Agency. The cadre gives it to us – but we have to address some construction sites.
“We’ll be there,”said Ben Roethlisberger to a visibly bent Antonio Brown after the Divisional Round game against the Jacksonville Jaguars, which the Steelers had just lost 45-42. It sounded like a promise from someone who knows what they’re saying.
And so it is: Roethlisberger won the Super Bowl 2006 and 2009, at that time with Hines Ward and Santonio Holmes. Much has changed since then in the head coach Mike Tomlin’s team, but for the past three years the Steel City team has once again been one of the serious contenders. Pittsburgh, New England, Philadelphia and Minnesota had the best record after the regular season of 2017 with 13 victories in just three bankruptcies.
In the end, however, the fans and players will most likely be left with the bitter memories of the home game against the patriots, which they lost extremely narrowly and dramatically at 24:27. And, of course, that in two games against Jacksonville on their own place they have allowed a total of 75 points. Or the defeat at the Chicago Bears. Overtime. As a household favorite.
But concentrating on the 13 victories the team has won, you can see a lot of morale and clutch performance. They have often returned for arrears, beating Green Bay (31-28) or Baltimore (39-38) in the second leg and have prevailed in tight matches, Indianapolis (20-17) or Detroit (20-15).
Opponents were rarely dominated – as one might have expected from time to time in view of the squad. But in the end, they almost always found a way around as winners. This also distinguishes top teams.
Before that, in the off-season of 2017, the Steelers trembled for a long time for the whereabouts of Roethlisberger and Le’ Veon Bell. Big Ben gave the prospect of his career end, and Bell’s contract negotiations extended until shortly before the start of the Free Agency and beyond.
This year, many people around the Steelers feared that these two personnel issues would once again overshadow everything. They got good news and bad news. The good news: Your quarterback announced after the playoff out against the Jaguars that they would continue in the cabin corridor.
The bad news came in the last weeks from her running back. Once again, the club and players could not agree on a long-term contract. Bell will play under the franchise day in 2018, earning him 14.5 million dollars – and he will stay as far away from the team as possible over the summer. Both personal details are likely to be in focus again after next season.
For the 2018 season, however, those responsible have two important positions of clarity. But how long can the offensive trio of Ben, Bell and Brown be held together?
For the second time in a row, Pittsburgh spends a lot of money on his running back, even though it’s the best back in the league. If Bell doesn’t sign up in 2019, he could test the market to see if there’s a team that is willing to meet his salary expectations. At the age of 27 years, Bell is no longer at an age of 27 years, when you have to fight for a running back in the NFL.
Wide Receiver Martavis Bryant is entering the final season of his rookie contract and it seems anything but certain that he will remain part of the Steelers Open. If it comes to that, trade rumours have been circulating recently.
Despite Bryant’s long suspension, the Steelers held Bryant in suspense and took him back into the squad at the end of his suspension. At the beginning of the season Bryant remained pale and had few good scenes, while at the same time Rookie JuJu Smith-Schuster rushed out of place for him. Shortly before the trade deadline at the end of October Bryant requested a trade and attacked Smith-Schuster via Twitter.
Rather, Pittsburgh gave Bryant a pause for thought for the game against Detroit, where he was allowed to watch Smith-Schuster decide the game with a 97-yard touchdown. In the second half of the season, Bryant’s performances improved, but his off the field behaviour did not give him any good arguments for an extension.
In addition, Pittsburgh would then have to create Cap Space in order to give its trouble spot, which had slipped down to the number three receiver, a new, large contract. At the moment, this seems to be only realistic if no agreement is reached with Bell, which would mean an additional 14.5 million dollars.
If there is still a trade coming up, the Steelers would have to look again at the receiver position. Especially since it is not certain that Eli Rogers will return from his cruciate ligament rupture in time for the new season. Tavon Austin, who is likely to be fired by the Los Angeles Rams, has already been discussed as a potential addition to Star-Receiver Brown and the new audience favourite Smith-Schuster.
Page 1: Big Ben’s promise and killer B’s expiration date
Page 2: Who replaces Ryan Shazier – and what happens behind it?