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The Pittsburgh Steelers could be in the market for a three-time Super Bowl champion.
As noted by Bleacher Report’s Kristopher Knox, the Steelers are lacking depth at linebacker. This is extremely concerning considering Pittsburgh ranked dead-last in both rushing yards and yards per attempt allowed last season.
Knox suggests the Steelers make a run at a veteran linebacker such as Dont’a Hightower. Hightower is best known for his decade-long career with the New England Patriots, beginning in the 2012 season. He previously racked up two Pro Bowl selections (2016 and 2019) and an All-Pro selection (2016) during his Patriots tenure. The 32-year-old linebacker remains a free agent heading into training camp.
“Some solid linebackers are still lingering on the open market, including Dont’a Hightower, K.J. Wright, Anthony Hitchens and Malcolm Smith,” said Knox. “Adding another veteran before the start of camp would help give the Steelers options when it comes to their run defense. This should be a priority, because if Pittsburgh doesn’t improve against the run, opponents will be able to bully them on the ground as they did a season ago. This will help negate Pittsburgh’s biggest defensive strength, the pass rush.”
Why Hightower is Worth Pursuing for Steelers
Hightower returned during the 2021 season after sitting out the 2020 campaign as a COVID-19 opt-out. He started all 15 of his appearances while recording 64 tackles and 1.5 sacks. According to Pro Football Focus, Hightower recorded just a 53.7 defensive grade. However, he registered an above-average 69.0 run defense grade, his highest grade in that category since the 2015 season.
For perspective, Hightower ranked 17th among all linebackers (with at least 500 snaps) in run defense. That grade ranks higher than any of the Steelers’ returning inside linebackers.
Hightower had a cap hit of over $12 million last season. He won’t come anywhere close to garnering that type of deal on the downside of his career. With the Steelers possessing $13.8 million in cap space, they can make a run at the three-time Super Bowl champion.
Considering Pittsburgh is lacking in its linebacker corps outside of T.J. Watt — Devin Bush (34.4) and Myles Jack (37.7) posted some of the worst defensive grades of inside linebackers last season — Hightower is definitely worth a gamble despite being towards the end of his career.
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Steelers Urged to Sign Veteran Running Back
Knox believes the Steelers have more holes to fix than just the linebacker position.
According to Knox, Pittsburgh needs an upgrade at backup running back behind Najee Harris. The second-year runner ranked second in the league in carries and led the league in touches during his rookie campaign last season. Pittsburgh is looking to lessen the workload of its young running back.
“I will not be on the field, I guess, [as much],” Harris said, per Chris Adamski of TribLive.
The Steelers’ current backups — Benny Snell Jr. and Anthony McFarland — were the definition of underwhelming last season. Snell somehow managed to average just 2.7 yards per carry on 36 carries. Meanwhile, McFarland wasn’t even a blip on the radar, registering just 19 offensive snaps during the 2021 campaign.
Knox mentions veteran running backs such as Latavius Murray, Jalen Richard and Carlos Hyde as possible options on the free agent market.
“It would make a whole lot of sense for Pittsburgh to add more depth behind Harris in 2022,” says Knox. “A quality receiving back like Jalen Richard would make a lot of sense for the Steelers, and there are other intriguing ball-carriers left in the free-agent pool. A physical inside runner like Carlos Hyde or Latavius Murray would also make sense if the Steelers are looking to not run Harris into the ground.”
With the Steelers clearly trying to protect their young running back while keeping him fresh, Pittsburgh should seriously considering signing a veteran back before training camp.
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