The Pittsburgh Steelers agreed to bring back quarterback Mason Rudolph on March 13 after he spent a year with the Tennessee Titans. The same day, the Steelers re-signed two key depth receivers from the 2024 roster — Scotty Miller and Ben Skowronek.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported the team inked Miller to a one-year deal. A few hours later, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport tweeted the Steelers also re-signed Skowronek.
Coincidentally, Miller and Skowronek both finished the 2024 regular season with five catches and 69 receiving yards. Miller received nine targets while Skowronek hauled in all five of his targets.
The Steelers also used both players in key special teams roles when needed throughout 2024.
Although not used all that often, Miller still has great outside speed. Skowronek doesn’t possess speed, but at 6-foot-3 and 220 pounds, he has the size and physicality of an excellent gunner on special teams.
Steelers Address WR Depth With Scotty Miller, Ben Skowronek
The Steelers’ trade for D.K. Metcalf became official March 13. Metcalf is expected to start opposite George Pickens at receiver.
Metcalf and Pickens are expected to be the big outside target on Pittsburgh’s offense. But Miller and Skowronek have the NFL experience that if needed because of injury, they can temporarily replace Metcalf and Pickens during a game. They will also likely have roles on special teams.
Skowronek played 149 special teams snaps for the Steelers last season. That was second-most among the team’s offensive players only to tight end Connor Heyward.
Skowronek would have recorded even more special teams snaps if not for an injury in the first part of the season. The veteran missed six games because of an ailment.
When he returned in Week 10, Skowronek recovered a fumble on punt coverage.
Overall, he averaged almost 15 special teams snaps per game.
Miller only played 10 special teams snaps. But one of those was as an emergency holder during the Week 1 victory against the Atlanta Falcons.
With Tom Brady as his quarterback in 2020, Miller posted 33 catches, 501 receiving yards and three touchdowns in 2020. Miller also averaged more than 15 yards per catch during the 2019 campaign.
Since then, he has 453 receiving yards over the past four seasons combined.
Skowronek’s best receiving season came in 2022 when he had 39 catches for 376 yards.
Both Miller and Skowronek have won Super Bowls. Miller captured a championship with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during the 2020 season while Skowronek won the Super Bowl the following year with the Los Angeles Rams.
Steelers WR Depth Entering the 2025 NFL Draft
With Miller and Skowronek back, the Steelers won’t have a huge shakeup in their wide receiver room.
The big change, of course, will come with Metcalf. The two-time Pro Bowler will essentially replace Van Jefferson, who signed with the Tennessee Titans in NFL free agency on March 12.
Metcalf is a huge upgrade over Jefferson. But the rest of the receiving core will look similar to the way it did in 2024 for Pittsburgh.
Pickens will be the offense’s deep threat while Calvin Austin III can also go down field. Austin is likely to play in the slot with Metcalf and Pickens outside.
The Steelers also hope to get more out of 2024 third-round pick Roman Wilson. The rookie had high expectations in 2024 but only played one game because of injuries.
The return of Miller and Skowronek likely won’t prevent the Steelers from adding another receiver in free agency or the draft. In a perfect world, neither will play much at receiver in 2025.
But with their presence in the Steelers receiving group, the team can prioritize other needs the rest of the offseason. The pair should be ample depth behind the big upgrade in Metcalf.
