The Pittsburgh Steelers are in store for roster changes during the 2025 NFL offseason. Despite being known as one of the league's most consistent organizations, several key players will hit free agency in March as the fanbase calls for meaningful upgrades.
For the eighth straight year, the Steelers failed to win a playoff game in 2024. They snuck into the postseason with their fourth Wild Card appearance in the past five years and suffered a lopsided 28-14 loss to divisional rival Baltimore Ravens. Pittsburgh ended the season with its second consecutive 10-win campaign but cannot seem to get over the hump to become a legitimate title threat.
Entering the 2025 NFL offseason, the Steelers and their corresponding fanbase must be feeling a frustrating sense of déjà vu. However, for better or worse, change is on the horizon. Russell Wilson, Najee Harris, Justin Fields, Cameron Sutton and James Daniels headline the team's 21-name list of players hitting free agency.
While the front office has expressed interest in retaining many of its upcoming free agents, the Steelers are all but guaranteed to experience significant turnover over the summer. They are projected to enter free agency with roughly $52 million in cap space before making the 21st selection of the 2025 NFL Draft.
Even with the amount of cap space they will have, the Steelers could free up additional room to pursue a bigger move. For the first time in a while, Pittsburgh has a chance to make a splash in the 2025 NFL offseason. They must capitalize on the opportunity while it lasts, even if it means parting ways with a seasoned veteran.
DE Preston Smith
Once upon a time, the idea of releasing Preston Smith would have been unfathomable. Eleven years into his career, Smith is still a serviceable pass-rusher, just not worth the $52 million extension he signed in 2022. His current contract makes him the fourth-highest-paid player on the team despite playing behind T.J. Watt, Alex Highsmith and Nick Herbig.
In 2024, Smith played just 14 percent of the total defensive snaps. Most of that was due to spending the first half of the season with the Green Bay Packers, but Smith never recorded higher than a 40.3 percent defensive snap share with the Steelers. Even in the games Highsmith missed with an ankle injury, the additional snaps went to Herbig over Smith.
Through his eight games in black and gold, Smith recorded just 13 total tackles, including two sacks. Overall, he had 32 tackles and 4.5 sacks in 2024 across his tenures with both the Steelers and Packers. The production was a noticeable decrease from his previous three seasons, a span in which he notched 25.5 sacks.
Beyond just his decreased production, the Steelers already boast one of the deepest pass-rush units without Smith. Few reserve edge-rushers have been more impactful than Herbig since he entered the league in 2023. After posting three sacks as a rookie, Herbig recorded 5.5 in 2024 with just a 38.8 defensive snap share.
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With Watt and Highsmith easily forming a top-five pass-rush tandem, Smith is merely a depth option. A solid one at that, but not worth the $26 million he is due over the next two years. A mutual divorce would benefit both sides, allowing Smith to join a team in need of his skill set, which is still potent enough to warrant a start on many teams.
Other potential Steelers moves in 2025 NFL offseason
Should the Steelers release Smith, they would hardly need to seek a replacement option. When healthy, Watt and Highsmith are virtually unblockable, with Herbig talented enough to start on most other rosters. Instead, Pittsburgh would be in position to make a league-changing move to break out of its current middling trajectory.
A lot will depend on who they can retain from their 2024 roster, but the Steelers are in dire need of offensive playmakers. The team has prided itself as one of the league's stiffest defenses for nearly a decade but continues to lack enough offensive firepower to realize meaningful success.
Contrary to some fan arguments, 36-year-old Wilson was not the team's issue in 2024. The veteran signal-caller enjoyed his best statistical season since 2021, his final year with the Seattle Seahawks. Wilson found most of his success despite working with a receiving room that lacked playmaking ability outside of troubled star George Pickens.
Instead, pairing run-heavy offensive coordinator Arthur Smith with the notoriously inefficient Harris proved to be unsuccessfully consequential. Harris topped 1,000 rushing yards for the fourth consecutive year but averaged just 4.0 yards per carry, one of the worst marks of any starting running back in the NFL. Nearly every team that splurged on a star running back in 2024 benefitted from it. The Steelers have to go down that well in 2025.
During the 2025 NFL offseason, several big-name free agents would be ideal fits on the Steelers' roster. Pursuing a trade for Deebo Samuel would give them a unique offensive look they do not currently have while signing a game-changing running back needs to be atop Omar Khan's to-do list. Nick Chubb, Aaron Jones, JK Dobbins and Javonte Williams are just some of the potential options Pittsburgh has to examine.
