Almost Offseason Champs
My kingdom for a no.2 receiver.
When last we left my tireless devotion to the Pittsburgh Steelers, I was watching them lose in the playoffs while hurtling across three states in a moving truck in the middle of a snowstorm.
Eight months later, I have a new crummy job, and the Steelers have several new high-profile quarterbacks, a new offensive coordinator, a defect from the Ravens who loves to shit-talk his former team, and a new punter who looks like Bill Burr.
The Steelers are going into 2024 touting the league’s highest paid defense and its lowest paid offense. A lot of that has to do with the fact that Pittsburgh is footing only $4.4 million to have both Russell Wilson and Justin Fields on the roster, while the Broncos are eating $38 million to make Russ go away. Denver fans and media are beside themselves with contempt for Russ, by the way. While writing this, I saw that Mark Schlereth on a podcast he does with some local Denver talking head speculated that the Steelers will bench Wilson by Week 6. Right or wrong, that Steelers Week 2 game in Mile High - or whatever they’re that stadium these days - should be fascinating.
Those frantic few weeks in early March were unfamiliar territory for Steelers fans. Longtime football fans are drubbed over the head with messages about how the franchise is built with an eye on the long view - three head coaches in 55 years, an emphasis on the draft over free agency, getting rid of guys who don’t buy in.
Sure, it’s not like Pittsburgh has never brought in a free agent quarterback, though over the years it’s been persistent backups and former starters signed with the expectation of being backups - guys like Mike Tomczak, Kent Graham, Charlie Batch, Byron Leftwich, and very late career Michael Vick.
This experiment with Russ and Fields represents something of a sea change. I have no idea how it’s going to go, and frankly it should be considered a boom-or-bust situation. Perhaps the worst outcome would be another middling 9-8 finish to maintain the “Tomlin never had a losing season” talking point, then the team has to decide between two veteran QBs eying their next hefty contract and the prospect of drafting another passer despite being hamstrung with a pick in the middle of the first round.
A slew of (thankfully relatively minor) offensive line injuries during camp and preseason will nevertheless delay the line gelling into a cohesive unit, and that has me concerned for the first few weeks of the regular season. The line already has two rookie starters. Even if they end up being solid to good, the transition period is likely to have considerable growing pains. There is some grumbling that Russell Wilson didn’t do anything in preseason action to clearly put himself over Fields, yet the line was so vulnerable, especially in the game against the Bills where Broderick Jones was getting immediately shoved into the backfield due to his poor adjustment to an elbow injury, that evaluation isn’t easy. While Mike Tomlin said it would be an open competition, it’s clear he favors the experienced and accomplished hand even if the pessimistic view that Fields’ ability to run for his life might better suit a QB behind a line trying to find it legs.
One encouraging part of camp and preseason is the continued ascent of linebacker Nick Herbig, who seems like he’s going to be really good, and provides needed depth behind T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith. The latter has been nursing a groin injury since the start of camp, leading local media to speculate whether the team should trade Highsmith. Let’s slow the roll on that one, considering Highsmith had one of the best win rates among edge rushers last year. The luxury of finding ways to get Herbig in the mix is one of the more tantalizing prospects for the 2024 season for the Steelers.
Less tantalizing is the state of the receiving corps. George Pickens comes into three year as a borderline no. 1 needing to shore up some of his route running and jettison his diva tendencies when things don’t go perfectly according to plan. Anytime Pittsburgh has lost over the last two years, especially in an effort where the offense wasn’t clicking, he could be counted on for an explosive social media post announcing “this ain’t it bro.” The Steelers traded Diontae Johnson to the Panthers in March for being a malcontent, and spent six months unable to secure his replacement, and not for a lack of trying. Pickens gotta grow up, and stay healthy, or else.
Lingering rumors had the Steelers supposedly on the cusp of landing Courtland Sutton, DK Metcalf, and Brandon Aiyuk. The drama with Aiyuk went on FOR-FUCKING-EVER and even after that fell through, desperate fans are thinking Davante Adams is the next possibility even though the season opener is days away and trading for a receiver at this point likely requires a month to get said player acclimated into the offense.
Instead, Van Jefferson looks to start the season as the other starting wideout. He’s had one serviceable year as a starting receiver in the NFL. Three years ago in the Rams Super Bowl season, he hauled in 802 receiving yards and six touchdowns. I’d be perfectly content with that level of production out of him in 2024 (inshallah), though the Steelers will undoubtedly need significant strides also out of Pat Freiermuth, Calvin Austin, and rookie Roman Wilson, who also missed all of the preseason due to a minor injury.
In the meantime, I’m going to try to enjoy the chaos from this normally staid franchise. I’ve clowned on Russ for years for his cornball antics, self-aggrandizement, and personal mythologizing, the worst moment being that Russ claimed that God made him throw four interceptions in the 2014 NFC Championship in order to make the eventual comeback win over the Packers that much more exciting. That he was picked at the goal line to lose the Super Bowl two weeks later was delicious comeuppance.
A few years ago, I came to the conclusion that Russ is spiritually Phil Dunphy, the dad from “Modern Family”. They’re both wholesome, ultimately decent dudes convinced of their hipness and willing to strain themselves unbearably to demonstrate as much.
See for yourself:
Case closed. Play Renegade.