Steelers Named As Likely Super Bowl Contenders After Historic Offseason

The Pittsburgh Steelers organization has a reputation for having high standards. Unfortunately, in recent seasons those benchmarks haven't been hit. The team hasn't been to a Super Bowl since 2010 and got their last playoff win in the 2016 season when they lost to the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship. Team President Art Rooney II is ready to break through the drought and gave General Manager Omar Khan the keys to make aggressive changes in the 2024 offseason to get closer to a seventh Super Bowl for the team.

After quarterback Kenny Pickett went down with an ankle injury, and Mason Rudolph delivered some clutch performances down the stretch to get Pittsburgh into the playoffs, the team got a taste of what an offense could do with a quarterback who could throw the ball down the field. When the Denver Broncos released former Super Bowl-winning quarterback Russell Wilson, who is well removed from the perennial Pro Bowl sensation he used to be but still had more touchdown passes in 2023 than the Steelers have had since Ben Roethlisberger retired, Khan pounced. 

Fixing the quarterback scenario by signing Wilson and adding Justin Fields, was the first step, according to Bleacher Report's Brent Sobleski. He gave the team full marks for realizing what they had in 2023 wasn't good enough and moving swiftly to correct it. 

"The Kenny Pickett first-round selection flopped. To Pittsburgh's credit, the organization didn't fall prey to the sunk-cost fallacy. Instead, general manager Omar Khan immediately pursued Russell Wilson after the Denver Broncos released the veteran quarterback," he wrote. "Khan doubled down at the game's most important position by flipping a conditional 2025 sixth-round draft pick to the Chicago Bears for Justin Fields."

He added that while Pittsburgh is buying low and hoping to get quality play from either Wilson or Fields, it's an upgrade to the 2023 quarterback room that helped the team claw into the postseason with 10 wins.

Sobelski continued that Pittsburgh also secured pieces to help the signal-callers brought in. With first-round pick Troy Fautanu and second-round pick Zach Frazier, the team added two potential day-one starters to help keep the quarterback upright. The team also added receiver Roman Wilson in the third round to help offset the loss of Diontae Johnson.  

Steelers Add Some More Pieces To Star-Studded Defense           

Pittsburgh's defense has star players in TJ Watt, Minkah Fitzpatrick, and Cam Heyward. The latter two struggled with injuries in 2023, which led to some on-field struggles. Sobelski liked how Pittsburgh added to the group in the 2024 offseason to complement their household names. 

The writer highlighted the team's signing of former Baltimore Ravens linebacker Patrick Queen and the drafting of Payton Wilson as big helpers. He sees Queen as a "legitimate three-down linebacker," which will be helpful for the team as the status of Cole Holcomb remains in doubt for the start of the season. He thinks Wilson, who was a tackling machine in his final season with NC State, could be a starter at some point during his rookie campaign. 

The other two additions he underlined were that of cornerback Donte Jackson and safety DeShon Elliott. Jackson is respected to play opposite Joey Porter Jr. on the outside. Sobelski thinks Elliot should provide a nice veteran presence opposite Fitzpatrick in the backfield. 

Pittsburgh is still competing in one of the most difficult divisions in the league, and arguably, the tougher conference. However, the team has made significant progress towards improving their roster for the 2023 season, as Khan promised. The final roster is not yet determined as the team continues its offseason efforts, but simply making it to the playoffs in 2024 won't be enough.

Do you agree that Pittsburgh looks more like a Super Bowl contender?