Pittsburgh Steelers safety Terrell Edmunds will head elsewhere in free agency.
Last offseason, the team got him on a cheap one-year, $2.5 million deal. The five-year safety proceeded to have the best season of his career, forming a formidable duo alongside Minkah Fitzpatrick. It seemed likely that the team would retain him this offseason after the season he just had, but that won’t end up being the case.
It’s quite the loss for the secondary, as Edmunds has grown into a very good player over the past few years. Selected 28th overall in the 2018 NFL Draft, many labeled him as a bust in his first few seasons.
On Thursday, Edmunds bid his farewell on social media, thanking his teammates and the city of Pittsburgh for his time with the team.
Now, safety becomes a need for the Steelers. Damontae Kazee was re-signed to a cheap two-year, $6 million deal just over a week ago. That signing becomes even more important now with the loss of Edmunds. Now, it also presumably puts him as the starter alongside Fitzpatrick. In his first season with Pittsburgh in 2022, Kazee battled some injuries, missing a total of eight games. When the six-year veteran saw the field though, he provided a legitimate impact.
Beyond Kazee and Fitzpatrick, the black and gold don’t have much at safety. Tre Norwood is quite versatile, transitioning between multiple roles at defensive back, but he didn’t have a good year in 2022. Miles Killebrew is still on the roster, but he's mostly a special teams guy. Elijah Riley has bounced between the practice squad and active roster, so he's likely not someone you trust as your primary backup, either.
Will the Steelers ride with Kazee in starting lineup now?
The front office could still dip back into free agency to find a safety, but the market seems pretty dry at this point of the offseason. Perhaps more likely, though, the Steelers have three top-49 picks in the 2023 NFL Draft. Someone to keep an eye on would be Clemson linebacker Trenton Simpson. While he played linebacker in college, several scouts and executives view him as a safety at the next level.
Simpson showed immense athleticism at the 2023 NFL Combine in Indianapolis, including a 4.43 40-yard dash time. In fact, not only did head coach Mike Tomlin attend his Pro Day, but he also had dinner with Simpson the previous night. The Clemson product will likely be available in the second round, which could lead to the black and gold scooping him up. Brian Branch of Alabama is another name to keep an eye on, as he's the best safety in a relatively weak class at the position.
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