OT: The Raiders trade Maxx Crosby to the Ravens

They could have spent some of that money on Darnold, leaving themselves with a better quarterback situation going forward and more resources to build elsewhere given what they could have gotten in return. This idea that there won't be enough options out there to spend the money is pure nonsense.

 

More on topic, the Ravens had to grab this opportunity. Their pass rush sucked. Failing to put any pressure on Rodgers probably cost them both games against the Steelers.

 

Ok. Who are the wonderful FA's they should spend over $60 million on this off-season?

https://www.spotrac.com/nfl/free-agents/available/_/year/2026


That is an uninspiring list of guys that are moving to the end of their career or never really had the impact they were intended to at the NFL level.

Almost every name on that list is on there for either a performance or injury related reason.

Alec Pierce is supposedly the crown jewel of the FA WR class. He certainly runs fast in a straight line. But he isn't the short and intermediate area chain mover the Steelers have been missing for several seasons now.

Nakobe Dean is the best LB available -- assuming he hasn't ruptured another tendon on the way to signing the contract.

They could throw big $$$ at Guard. There are several predicted to hit the market that are slated to make north of $10 million.

Ohhhh......maybe they can sign an old CB who used to be able to play man coverage. That will be super!

Again....I will say this for the 100th time.

In the year of our lord two thousand and twenty five, the Pittsburgh Steelers National Football League franchise could have signed Sam Darnold to play quarterback for less money on the annual salary cap than they ended up paying Aaron Rodgers. In future years, using basic addition and subtraction, we can project that the Steelers would have had ample space on their yearly salary cap allotment to absorb the increased annual cost of Darnold's contract working on the assumption that he would have inked a similar deal as the one he took in Seattle.

Either Darnold did not want to play for the Pittsburgh Steelers or the Pittsburgh Steelers did not want Darnold to play for them. It may be both. Darnold not being in Pittsburgh has no basis in salary cap related issues. It is not complicated.

 

You don't know how Watt is going to play this upcoming season, and frankly, neither do I. He missed three games with the needling injury that collapsed his lung that required surgery, and even when he came back he wasn't in real starting physical condition to play.

Opposing teams are still giving him all kinds of extra attention to block him as he had more chips against him than anyone in the NFL while missing three games. Until other teams aren't doing that anymore, he is still making everyone else better and playing at a high level.

With all that he still had 7 sacks last season. Let's see how he plays this upcoming season before throwing dirt on his career. My personal opinion is that I think there is still some meat on the bone and he will bounce back.

There are plenty of people on this message board saying that the Steelers are nuts if they pay Porter close to $30 million. It is the cost of doing business if you want a top cornerback, but they are already claiming he isn't that good. Unless a player allows zero catches and has 10 interceptions per season, that doesn't meet the rigid standards of fans that don't understand the game well enough to know what great play is, and they think it is time to move on from that player and spend less. It's as if they were paying that salary out of their own Money Market Plus checking accounts.

 

That be cool if he was suspended for 6 games and miss both Steelers games.

 

What part of they could have invested in players last offseason do you not understand?

There are linebacker options that are far better than Dean, so that was either you not knowing the market or intentionally misrepresenting it to make the options seem worse. They could go after someone like Devin Lloyd or Quay Walker, which may still happen if they cut Queen.

There are good receivers on the market. They probably have to sign a guard. They need help at safety.

Teams are better off with more resources than fewer. How is this concept escaping people?

 

Watt broke down and disappeared at the end of the 2024 season. He was a shell of his former self in 2025. He is still a good player, but not a great one, certainly not worth the ridiculous money they gave him. They would be much better off right now if they had spent some of that money elsewhere and gotten a first-round pick for Watt.

Don't lump this in with Porter, a player heading into his prime. They are completely different situations.

 

What players? They could have jiggered the cap hits around and signed anyone they wanted to last season.

They either did not have any other targets they wanted to sign at the market prices or those targets did not want to play in Pittsburgh.

The salary cap was zero barrier to any player move the Steelers wanted to undertake last year or this off-season.

You are stuck on an issue that only you believe to be true. Unfortunately, facts do not support the position you have taken.

You have repeatedly stated and hinted that the 2025 salary cap was the barrier to signing Darnold as well as other players. That is simply factually incorrect. The Steelers made their choices and it was not based on cap concerns.

 

This simply is not true. The Steelers held on to cap room to sign Watt. They could have signed Darnold. They could have signed a valid option to start at receiver once they traded Pickens. They could have signed a far better option at safety than Thornhill. There are plenty of options to spend on this season, enough that they could use the additional cap room. You are also completely ignoring the trade value Watt had a year ago. They could have gotten a first round pick and more.

I get it. You like Watt and you didn't want to see him go, so you are willing to twist things to justify massively overpaying him. That doesn't make it a good move.

 

Plain/buttered

I've done a light drizzle of honey with bacon bits and chili often

 

It isn't about my personal opinion regarding Watt. I would have traded him 3 years ago. Same with Heyward.

I do not challenge your argument because of my views on Watt as a player. I challenge it because your argument is offensive to math.

The Steelers errors in 2025 FA, and there were many, were not a cap space issue. It was a scouting issue. It is also possible that specific players they might have targeted told them they didn't want to play there. We won't know that. But the players get a say as well.

But for sake of argument, Justin Reid's 2025 cap hit was essentially the same as Thornhill's. I have already outlined the math that supports they could have signed Darnold. Either the team didn't want to or the player didn't want to play here.

The Steelers could have signed Chavarious Ward for LESS of a 2025 cap hit then they handed out to Slay. Again, cap space is not an issue.

I do not see an impact WR other than Davantae Adams that hit the open market in 2025. And Adams simply was never coming to play in an offense lacking a good QB and what was projected to be an overall low volume passing attack. Especially when he has entered the ring chasing phase of his career. Also his cap hit was only $12 million in 2025. That is less than Jonnu Smith and Malik Harrison.

Simple addition and subtraction refutes all of your points. It was not the Watt contract that led the Steelers to sign underperforming FA's in 2025. It was poor player personnel decisions and choices by FA's on the market.

 

Well yeah Manning or any other must have QB that fizzled. ugh those were the days

 

Darnold landed exactly where he needed to land. Kubiak was the ideal OC for him. Having Njigiba and Walker didn’t hurt either. I doubt he would’ve thrived in an Aurthur Smith offense

 

We will find out next season. Breaking down and being done as a great player and being injured are two different things.

Nobody knows for sure about Watt's future performance, but they will tell you that they do. However, everyone is entitled to their opinion.

It will play itself out and we will see.

 

I guess You aren't counting the two 1st round picks. I guess they count for nothing

 

Agreed. So that will be 2 first round draft picks, and a contract extension for a guy that has less real stats as Watt, and yet Watt is considered over paid, and done. Makes no sense to say how great the Ravens did, and in the same breath say the Steelers were stupid with dealing with Watt

 

Let us take the assumption that TJ Watt was or is worth multiple first round picks. Leaving cap space in a box for now, we start with the idea that any team would gladly roster Watt for two first round picks.

A team, like the Steelers, who, internally view themselves as a couple of nice pieces away from playing in a SB, would never trade that player. That player is worth more, to them, then the draft capital they would receive in turn.

Now, a team that has, internally, judged itself to be many pieces away and entering a rebuilding period, would potentially jump at the chance to swap a vet player for draft assets.

Everything the Steelers have done for like 4 off-seasons in a row...and so far for the current on as well....demonstrates that they do NOT believe they are that far away. They aren't trading anyone for picks.

 

With them trading for Pittman CB definitely should be in play in round one.

 

That has been explained to Scribe plenty of times he just ignores that part, and the fact that Darnold said he wanted to go play for Kubiak in Seattle.

 

Nope. No LB at #14 in 2026 can match Crosby. Next season? Who knows.

 

Adams wasn't going to sign to play with Rodgers? Man, you really are twisting yourself in knots to try to justify that horrible contract.

 

Yeah, because players never praise their new coaches after taking the money and running. lol

 

What???
So if they don't get a LB out of 2 first round draft picks it's a waste?? LoL
I mean we all know that that is all the Ravens need to make a SB is a LB. LoL.
I remember this when people are saying they need something else, and I will laugh, and say, well maybe they could have gotten it with the 2 first round draft picks they gave away for a player less than Watt.