Pittsburgh Steelers 2029 Offseason Preview
Pittsburgh, PA. - For the first time since 2003, the Pittsburgh Steelers finished a season with a losing record. Pittsburgh faithful are hoping the coincidences don't end there.
The last time the Steelers went south of .500—a 6-10 campaign in 2003—they selected Miami of Ohio quarterback Ben Roethlisberger in that spring's draft and promptly skyrocketed to a 15-1 record the following season, falling just short of becoming the first franchise in NFL history to reach the Super Bowl with a rookie signal caller. Anyone who calls themselves a football fan knows the rest. Roethlisberger went on to lead Pittsburgh to three Super Bowl berths, winning two, in what became a Hall of Fame career.
The 2029 draft class, unfortunately, is no 2004.
"The good news is they really only have one pressing need," theorized one rival general manager. "The bad news is it's the most impactful position on the field in a year that is exceptionally light on impact players at that position."
Despite preparing for the departure of up to eighteen players when free agency opens tomorrow, Pittsburgh's roster needs are surprisingly concentrated. The foundational pieces are largely intact, and in some cases, genuinely enviable.
Offensively, the Steelers return Quinshon Judkins, who led the NFL in rushing last season, behind one of the highest-rated offensive lines in the league. That unit surrendered just 21 sacks in 2028 despite cycling through three different starting quarterbacks, a remarkable achievement that speaks to both its collective talent and its depth. Troy Fautanu returns under the franchise tag as the anchor of that group. The receiving corps of DK Metcalf, Ryan Williams, and Zachariah Branch gives Pittsburgh legitimate weapons on the outside, and while the expected departure of Pat Freiermuth leaves a void at tight end, rookie Gabe Gomez showed more than enough in a limited 2028 role to suggest he is ready for expanded responsibilities.
Defensively, the losses of Jalen Ramsey and Payton Wilson will generate headlines, but the in-house answers are more credible than the departures might suggest. Harold Perkins Jr., drafted in the second round three years ago, has quietly developed into one of the more complete linebackers in the AFC—posting career highs last season with 68 tackles, 17 tackles for loss, and 7.5 sacks despite playing second fiddle to Wilson for most of the year. His ascension makes Wilson's departure manageable, if not painless. At cornerback, the writing on the wall was visible the moment Pittsburgh signed Cooper DeJean last offseason. Ramsey spent much of 2028 operating as a versatile nickel defender rather than a true outside corner, and DeJean's presence makes his departure easier to absorb than the name recognition implies. Ji'Ayir Brown slides into the starting free safety role vacated by Alohi Gilman's departure, giving Flores a known commodity at a position that could have been a significant concern.
With the roster's strengths established, here is a look at the areas Omar Khan needs to address before free agency opens tomorrow.
Quarterback
The most obvious and most urgent need is replacing two-time MVP Anthony Richardson, whose legal situation has now been fully resolved. Replacing a franchise quarterback is easy to suggest and rarely easy to execute, and that remains emphatically the case for Pittsburgh entering a draft class and free agent market that offer few answers and even fewer certainties.
Pittsburgh holds the second overall pick in the draft, acquired from the 5-12 Seattle Seahawks, as well as their own tenth overall selection. The growing consensus around the league is that at least one of those picks will be used on a quarterback. The challenge is that the two consensus top signal callers in the 2029 class—Washington's Gavin Johnson and Georgia Tech's Clayton Owens—generate more questions than excitement among evaluators.
"Last year, neither of these guys would sniff the first round," one rival scout said bluntly. "Both have a shaky injury history—nothing career-threatening individually, but the accumulation of it is a concern. Neither is an elite athlete, and while both possess solid accuracy, with Owens having the edge on deeper routes—neither has the arm strength you'd love to see at the next level. The question isn't whether they can put the ball where they want it. The question is whether they can get it there before a defender beats them to the spot."
When pressed on which of the two he would prefer, the scout was reluctant. "I wouldn't take either, honestly. But if you held a gun to my head? Probably Johnson. He's got the size you want and has played against top competition in the Big Ten. That said, the player I think has the highest ceiling in this entire class is BYU's Andrew Schafer."
Schafer, projected as a Day 3 pick, has drawn quiet buzz for an elite arm and surprising touch, but is widely considered raw after just one season as a starter for the Cougars.
"He's got the live arm you dream about with more touch than you'd expect," the scout continued. "The problem is he's raw. One year starting at BYU, solid numbers, but nothing that jumps off the tape except that arm. The right team develops him right, maybe he ends up the best quarterback in this class. But the fact that we're talking about a Day 3 pick as potentially the best of the bunch should tell you everything you need to know about the quality ahead of him."
Free agency offers Pittsburgh an equally uninspiring landscape. Joe Milton III is the most intriguing name available, a tantalizing blend of size and athleticism who, at 28, has never been given a meaningful opportunity to start in the NFL. His last two stops, Dallas and Baltimore, both featured entrenched starters ahead of him, which his supporters point to as context for his lack of a resume. Skeptics counter that quarterback-needy teams had four years to come calling and largely didn't.
"Someone is going to pay him Justin Fields money hoping he becomes the next Josh Allen," one anonymous owner told ESPN. "I'm just glad I'm not in that position. The upside is real. But at 28, you have to start wondering when the development actually happens."
Former starters Kyler Murray and Jared Goff are also available, and sources close to Pittsburgh indicate the Steelers' internal preference leans toward Goff—a signal caller whose experience in Sean McVay's offensive system maps cleanly onto the scheme Scheelhaase runs in Pittsburgh.
"They don't need someone to come in and contend for another MVP," one source told ESPN. "They need someone who makes the right throws, keeps the team level, and doesn't turn the ball over. Who does that sound like to you? Jared Goff."
The fit has merit. Goff is a proven starter who manages the game efficiently, takes care of the football, and has operated comfortably within the offensive framework Pittsburgh is building around. Murray would provide more excitement, but at 32 and coming off two injury-shortened seasons that still produced double-digit interception totals, the risk of betting on a physical resurgence in Pittsburgh feels difficult to justify.
Younger developmental options—Jaxson Dart, Tyler Shough, Kyle McCord, and undrafted free agent Jalen Pearson of Akron, who turned enough heads in the preseason to earn a backup role with the Rams—round out a list that underscores the uncomfortable reality facing Khan this offseason. There is no obvious answer. There is only a series of calculated gambles, and the pressure to choose correctly.
Replacing Keaton Mitchell's Production
Keaton Mitchell was never a starter in Pittsburgh, but his impact as a change-of-pace back and receiving threat out of the backfield was undeniable. In each of his seasons with the Steelers, Mitchell eclipsed 650 all-purpose yards and ten touchdowns, numbers that will not be easily replaced by committee.
Former Texas A&M back Rueben Owens and former Texas standout Jerrick Gibson both profile as explosive complements to Judkins, but neither has demonstrated the pass-catching acumen that made Mitchell so valuable in Pittsburgh's offensive system.
"There's never a shortage of speedy scat-backs in the draft," one source close to the Steelers told ESPN. "Expect them to use their draft capital and take a calculated swing on a guy in the second or third round, hoping to catch lightning in a bottle."
Offensive and Defensive Depth
The receiving corps and offensive line are set at the top, but depth behind the starters at both positions is a legitimate concern. The odds of an offensive line getting through an eighteen-game season without a significant injury are slim, and Pittsburgh's drop-off behind the starting five could be exposed quickly without quality insurance pieces in place. The receiving corps similarly thins out considerably after Branch, leaving Khan to comb the bargain bin of free agency and the middle rounds of the draft for value additions.
Defensively, the picture is cleaner. Every starter returns from the 2028 unit with the exception of Wilson, whose role is filled internally by Perkins. The priority will be identifying depth pieces through the draft and late free agency to ensure the unit doesn't face the same attrition issues that surfaced late in last season.
