Pittsburgh Steelers Offseason Preview
Mike McCarthy and Aaron Rodgers, Part II? Sounds more like a Celebrity Death Match than a plan.
This is the latest in an ongoing series of NFL offseason previews.
2025 Season in a Nutshell
The Steelers finally became so excruciatingly and obstinately meh that even Mike Tomlin couldn’t take any more.
Coaching Situation
Mike McCarthy is the NFL’s Baron Munchausen, a charmingly pathological spinner of self-serving tall tales whose tangible accomplishments petered out about a decade ago.
McCarthy worked hard to build a crackerjack coaching staff so he won’t have to work very hard at coaching. Patrick Graham is an experienced no-nonsense defensive coordinator. New offensive coordinator Brian Angelichio was the Vikings passing game coordinator, but don’t hold that against him. (McCarthy plans to call plays using his old Super Tecmo Bowl interface.)
Danny Crossman has been coaching special teams for 20 years, so he should have little trouble filling the shoes of the legendary Danny Smith. All he has to do is clap on the sideline after an opponent’s missed field goal as if he were personally responsible for it.
Quarterback Situation
Aaron Rodgers’ peons in the press keep reporting that he wants to return to the Steelers, despite McCarthy’s arrival. Rodgers may just be cyberbullying McCarthy, or testing the loyalty/gullibility of his minions, or merely marking his territory.
Rodgers only survived the 2025 season because Tomlin and Arthur Smith built an offense out of six-lineman/three-TE formations and zero-air-yard passes to Kenneth Gainwell. McCarthy and Angelichio could get Rodgers killed with one spread formation. McCarthy has the motive, so it takes chutzpah to also give him the opportunity.
Rodgers’ return would be a pathologically stupid plan for all parties. I give it a 33% chance of happening.
Mason Rudolph is stuck to the roster like old wallpaper. The Steelers would have to steam him off to get rid of him at this point.
State of the Roster
J.J. Watt, Cameron Heyward and Jalen Ramsey are still very effective but on the wrong side of 30. Alex Highsmith will turn 29 in August. Youngsters Nick Herbig and Joey Porter have grown into greater roles, but the Steelers defense has gone from sixth to eighth to 11th in DVOA over the last three years for a reason.
The Steelers offense is tough to evaluate after last year’s experiments with 1930s Ivy League tactics. DK Metcalf proved to be surprisingly versatile, upbeat and on the same page of the same Elder Scroll as Rodgers. Gainwell has become the next Austin Ekeler. Darnell Washington is a useful TE2 miscast as a playmaker. The line fared well but was rarely asked to sustain blocks. An undrafted rookie named Dylan Cook started at left tackle down the stretch and didn’t cause a catastrophe.
If nothing else, the Steelers offense should be capable of protecting an old weirdo quarterback, whether his name is Aaron Rodgers, Kirk Cousins, Philip Rivers, Derek Carr, Joe Flacco or, well, Rudolph turns 31 in the summer, so let’s lump him in here, too.
Cap and Draft Stuff
The Steelers possess $45 million in paper cap space, some of which must remain earmarked for a veteran quarterback. Change-up back Gainwell and 33-year old guard Isaac Seumalo are the top in-house free agent priorities. Both are worth retaining at a reasonable price. The Steelers generally don’t shop much in free agency, but they can if they want to.
The Steelers will select 21st, 53rd, 76th, 85th and 99th in the first three rounds of the 2026 draft. The 85th pick came from the Cowboys in the George Pickens trade. The 99th pick is supplemental.
One Thing the Steelers Must Do
Find a WR2. And probably a WR3. Calvin Austin, Scotty Miller and Marquez Valdes-Scantling are all free agents and could still be looking for work in July. Roman Wilson ain’t happening, folks. And McCarthy has never even seen a three-tight end formation; he fell asleep in his “barn” during the 2025 playoffs and had an intern summarize the Rams for him.
In Summary
McCarthy is so unlike Tomlin that the whole Steelers organization is about to undergo culture shock. There didn’t appear to be much of a plan last year – the Steelers waited for Rodgers until June – but Tomlin’s presence guaranteed some continuity and professionalism. McCarthy guarantees nothing, and the current plan will remains unknowable until a quarterback arrives.
It really feels like no one is at the wheel of the Steelers organization right now. That’s downright disorienting, because the one thing the Steelers have not lacked for over 50 years is leadership.
