The Pittsburgh Steelers have holes to fill in their front seven on defense. Bleacher Report’s Joe Tansey suggested the Steelers address at least one of those needs with an offseason trade.
Tansey proposed on February 8 that the Steelers pursue Jacksonville Jaguars defensive end Josh Allen on the trade market.
“Pittsburgh may lose two inside linebackers in Devin Bush and Robert Spillane in free agency, and while Allen is not a direct replacement on the outside, he would still boost the overall quality of the Steelers defense,” wrote Tansey.
“The Steelers need as many dominant edge-rushers as possible to deal with Joe Burrow, Deshaun Watson and potentially Lamar Jackson for multiple years to come in the AFC North.”
Allen was the seventh overall pick for the Jaguars in the 2019 NFL Draft. He started at least 15 games each of the last two seasons.
How Allen Would Fit With Steelers
The Steelers have largely ignored the depth of their defensive line for far too long. All that the team has left on the unit is largely inexperienced players surrounding an All-Pro but aging talent in Cameron Heyward.
This offseason, the Steelers must add to their defensive line in a major way. Trading for Allen would certainly do that.
Allen has recorded at least 7.0 sacks in each of his two full seasons as a starter. He also had 10.5 sacks as a rookie in 2019 when he made his only Pro Bowl.
In 57 career games, Allen has posted 185 combined tackles, including 36 tackles for loss, 27.5 sacks and 70 quarterback hits. He’s also recorded 7 pass defenses, 7 forced fumbles and an interception.
Allen would be an excellent addition to the Steelers defense, which already has Heyward on one end of the defensive line. Allen and Heyward paired with outside linebackers T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith would be an absolutely lethal pass rush.
The Steelers missed Watt for 7 games, but their defense was an average unit at rushing the passer overall this past season. They finished with 40 sacks, which was 16th in the league, in 2022.
Steelers to Consider Allen as Rental Player?
Tansey didn’t speculate on what kind of compensation the Jaguars might want in order to trade Allen. But he might not be worth as much as expected on the trade market because he’s not signed after the 2023 season.
That’s the good news. The bad news, though, is he simply is a rental player unless the team acquiring him plans to sign Allen to an extension.
Tansey argued the Steelers should consider a long-term agreement for Allen if they trade for him.
“Allen would be a one-year rental to start, but he could be inked to a longer-term deal to partner T.J. Watt in the pass rush,” Tansey wrote. “Pittsburgh could go after a young inside linebacker in the draft to fill in any potential gaps in the middle.”
Spotrac projected Allen’s market value to be $64.71 million on a four-year contract. That’s not unreasonable for the Steelers, but Highsmith will also need a new deal after the 2023 season.
Highsmith experienced a breakout season this past fall, leading the team with 14.5 sacks. Spotrac projected his market value to be $55.64 million on a four-year deal.
It seems highly unlikely that the Steelers would offer both Highsmith and Allen extensions while also paying Watt an average of $28 million per season.
The uncertainty for those two players beyond 2023 makes the Steelers pulling off a deal for Allen improbable, but it doesn’t hurt to explore the possibility. Allen’s pass rushing ability would likely make Pittsburgh’s defense an incredible force.
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