Getty Steelers GM Kevin Colbert watches the Steelers warm up.
The Pittsburgh Steelers are not typically movers and shakers in free agency but they’re in a very unique situation this 2022 offseason.
Perhaps the Steelers are not in full rebuild mode, but they’re certainly renovating — good bones, just cracks and holes to repair. It all comes at a precarious time as Kevin Colbert, the team’s general manager since 2000, is vacating his position after the NFL draft.
Colbert is the mastermind behind crafting some of the best Pittsburgh Steelers rosters the franchise has ever seen. And he’s about to give it another crack one final time.
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Chasing Trade Proposals
Even with the advent of free agency in 1993, the Pittsburgh Steelers’ philosophy was to build through the draft.
In the 22-year Kevin Colbert era, the Steelers have been involved in trades (including in-draft) just 36 times.
Should Colbert wish to add one more to that count, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler believes that wide receiver Chase Claypool makes sense.
As they do annually, ESPN spoke with league executives, coaches and agents about what the free-agent market could look like once it opens on March 16.
Claypool is a massive talent drafted by general manager Kevin Colbert, who is stepping down after the draft. A new GM might want to build around Diontae Johnson, Najee Harris and Pat Freiermuth on offense. While Johnson’s targets increased every year, from 92 to 144 to 169, Claypool’s dropped slightly from his first to second season, from 109 to 105.
Coach Mike Tomlin having to address Claypool’s “missteps” and “growth and development” in the media due to the receiver’s lack of awareness late in games or obvious maturity issues isn’t ideal. The Steelers usually stand behind young players, but if there’s a chance to acquire great value, Pittsburgh would be smart to listen.
Fowler is spot-on about the Steelers at least listening to trade offers.
Claypool has all the tools and traits to be a star receiver in this league — size, explosiveness, athleticism, speed. The Steelers witnessed it first-hand during his rookie season when he put up 873 yards and 11 touchdowns.
Winning jump balls, beating defenders on the perimeter, getting over the top on defenses — Claypool was doing it all in 2020. That fizzled out considerably in 2021. He didn’t show any of the skills or talent that he did when he first came into the league.
Was his rookie year an anomaly?
The only way for the Steelers to know is to keep him around. He could bounce back and if it’s with another team, they’ll never live it down.
But if the Steelers brass doesn’t see a future for Claypool in Pittsburgh, they’d be wise to unload him now. He’s shown enough to draw at least a third-rounder from a team that feels Claypool could fit in their offense.
Let’s Make a Deal
There are a few other guys on the Steelers roster who have been disappointments but could find their way in another city.
It’s high time the Zach Banner Experiment ends in Pittsburgh. The tackle is beloved by fans for his sense of humor and down-to-earth nature but he hasn’t dazzled on-field and is injury prone.
Another potential trade candidate is inside linebacker Devin Bush. It would be a bitter pill to swallow given the draft capital they relinquished to trade up for him in the 2019 NFL draft.
The Steelers, who held the No. 20 pick, swapped first-rounders with the Denver Broncos at No. 10 and gave up their second and third-round selections for the four-star linebacker out of Michigan.
Unfortunately, Bush hasn’t lived up to expectations. Sure, no one could foresee the devastating ACL injury or that he’d be so slow to fully recover once he returned. Both in pass coverage and against the run, Bush misreads routes and plays. Instead of acting, he re-acts and is slow to do so.
While there were certainly times this season where he shouldn’t have been, Bush is a starter. Pittsburgh will need to have a contingency plan before shipping him off and maybe selecting a linebacker early or trading for a seasoned vet isn’t in the cards.
The final candidate Pittsburgh should jettison is defensive tackle Stephon Tuitt. He’s had bright spots — 2020 was a career season for the former second-rounder — but he can’t stay healthy. Tuitt did not play in 2021 due to a knee injury but also suffered the tragic loss of his brother prior to training camp.
According to Over The Cap, Tuitt’s $13.975 million cap number for 2022 is the third-highest on the roster, below T.J. Watt and Cam Heyward.
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