The Pittsburgh Steelers have been intensely involved in 2023 free agency. General manager Omar Khan has been aggressive, addressing key needs such as the offensive and defensive lines, cornerback and linebacker. It has been a very busy start to his first full offseason as the head of the front office. One of the more interesting things that has come along with it is the rest of the teams in the division, aside from a few moves, have been relatively quiet. There's no doubt that Khan and Co. are having the best offseason thus far out of the four organizations.
Pittsburgh has re-signed Larry Ogunjobi and Damontae Kazee, while also bringing in external free agents Isaac Seumalo, Cole Holcomb, Patrick Peterson and Nate Herbig. The franchise has been filling very obvious voids and is now in much better shape than it was just a few weeks ago.
Meanwhile, a huge rival in the Baltimore Ravens have yet to bring someone in from outside of the organization and lost offensive guard Ben Powers. Baltimore is extremely set back by the interesting contract situation surrounding former MVP quarterback Lamar Jackson. The team has certainly not gotten better up to this point in the offseason.
As far as how things are going for the two-time reigning division champions, the Cincinnati Bengals made a splash move bringing in Orlando Brown Jr. to protect Joe Burrow's blind side. However, the franchise lost their top three free agents, as Jessie Bates III, Vonn Bell and Hayden Hurst are all headed to play in the NFC.
The Cleveland Browns have made a couple significant moves, including signing defensive lineman Dalvin Tomlinson and safety Juan Thonrhill. The organization lost six key free agents, however, and is already feeling the effects of the monstrous, fully guaranteed deal to quarterback Deshaun Watson.
Taking a look at what the Ravens, Bengals and Browns have done as April approaches, it is hard to say that the three teams are improving their respective groups as a whole. There is one overarching theme, and it's that the Steelers are making the most cost conscious and important moves to be more competitive in 2023.
Pittsburgh's offensive line will build off the success it had at the end of 2022, but with a new, more dominant force on the inside. Seumalo is going to be a key factor in the rushing attack. Peterson brings another veteran presence to the defense, while bringing Ogunjobi back makes a huge difference for the big men up front.
Steelers Thriving In 2023 Free Agency
Letting Cameron Sutton walk wasn't ideal, but there are not many other bad moments of the offseason to this point. The Steelers are drastically improving the roster, while divisional rivals are not exactly doing enough to put themselves in a better position than they were a season ago.
Overall, the teams within the division are certainly taking a backseat to the Steelers to begin the NFL's new league year. It can't go unnoticed that Khan is making a play to be atop of the division in 2023 for the first time in three years. All the major needs have been addressed, and there is still money to play with along adding pieces from a star-studded draft class.
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