For the first time since 2006, a new Pittsburgh Steelers season is accompanied by a new coaching staff. And with that new season — officially, as per NFL parlance, the new league year — beginning next week, the accompanying start of free agency will see the Steelers undergo a significant shift regarding the types of players the organization will target, right?
“Absolutely not,” general manager Omar Khan recently said. “I mean, defensively, you guys will still see the 3-4 defense. Offensively, things are, obviously, going to change a little bit with the new scheme but nothing drastic.”
If Khan is to be believed, that could be a signal not to expect anything all that eyebrow-raising to come in the hours following noon Monday, when the so-called “legal tampering period” begins for unrestricted free agents.
For a 52-hour period, teams and the representation for free agents — but not the players themselves — can work on hammering out new contracts that cannot be made official until the new league year begins at 4 p.m. Wednesday.
The three-day span is among the highlights of the NFL machine’s offseason calendar, a timeframe in which fans can view in real time as their favorite team’s roster is transformed.
Traditionally over the three-plus decades since the dawn of true free agency, the Steelers haven’t been major movers and shakers in that space. But in recent years, that has changed some. And even if the Steelers aren’t the ones signing the biggest-ticket free agents, this week annually has dropped some bombshells in regards to the composition of their roster.
Each of the past two springs, the Steelers made their “splashiest” move on the eve of the start of free agency’s Monday “legal tampering.”
It was late Sunday evening in 2024 when quarterback Russell Wilson posted on social media that he was signing with the Steelers. Last season, again, it was on Sunday that word broke of the Steelers’ trade for DK Metcalf.
Still, with Super Bowl-winning coach Mike McCarthy now leading the Steelers and the team’s roster flush with areas in need of upgrade, don’t be surprised if the Steelers are aggressive in 2026 free agency.
According to spotrac.com, only six teams have more available salary-cap space than the Steelers at $50.01 million.
“We’re in good cap shape,” Khan said during the combine late last month, “so we have the flexibility to maybe do some things that might not be normal in people’s eyes.
“We try to get as many good players at every position as we can and let it shake out from there. That’s the right approach for us.”
Despite winning the AFC North last season, the Steelers have no shortage of areas of need. This is particularly true when their own free agents are factored in. If the Steelers don’t reach extensions with running back Kenneth Gainwell or left guard Isaac Seumalo, for example, that leaves two additional starting-caliber players on the offseason shopping list.
While Gainwell and Seuamlo join quarterback Aaron Rodgers as the highest-profile Steelers headed to unrestricted free agency, there are 20 others. Some might return. It has not been uncommon for the Steelers to, in effect, present UFAs they want to bring back with an offer and a directive to “see what’s out there” before the sides come together on the first day or two of free agency.
But if players such as Gainwell, Semualo, Rodgers — whose high-profile decision stands on its own — receiver Calvin Austin III and cornerbacks Asante Samuel Jr. and James Pierre are not retained, that likely portends the Steelers pursuing other veterans to address the needs at those positions.
“There are some guys that we’d like to extend,” Khan said of the Steelers’ pending class of free agents, “for sure.”
At cornerback, in particular, the Steelers would love to find a long-term running mate ascending star Joey Porter Jr.
“We’d like to have both of them back,” Khan said of Pierre and Samuel, “(but) we’ll see how it shakes out.”
Wide receiver, though, will get most of the attention. Metcalf joins only Ben Skowronek (a special-teams ace but mere depth receiver) and Roman Wilson (so far, a bust of a 2024 third-round pick) under contract at the position.
Could the Steelers be in the waters for one of the proverbial “big fish” at the position? Time will tell, but receivers such as Alec Pierce, Rashid Shaheed, Wan’Dale Robinson and Jauan Jennings are expected to command contracts with average annual salaries approaching the $20 million range or more.
Then again, that’s just the cost of doing business in free agency, particularly in this age of the quickly rising salary cap that topped $300 million per team this season.
“I’d love to have first-contract guys at every position,” Khan said, referencing the so-called “rookie deals” that have relative lower salaries, “but that’s just not the reality.
“So (free agency is) year-to-year and case-by-case, and you’ve got to evaluate who’s available, who you have under contract, and let it work out. This process is always very fluid.”
