S Jaquan Brisker with the steelers

This is my thinking, makes Queen expendable.

 

Lot of praise for Omar..... I would throw a flag of caution.
Overall and on paper, it's an ok offseason so far. A good draft with all those picks could send it over the top.
And I do temper this Free Agency period due to it being a little on the weird side, due to a lot of age and lack of talent but it did pick up with releases and some trades.

What I like:
As I said prior to Free Agency, he doesn't need the splash moves, just do some smart shopping.
The trade for Pittman is good and bad.
Jamal Dean is a decent signing, also with some mixed reviews. I actually side on the positive side.
Dowdle is a replacement signing but could be good addition as well.
Brisker has concussion issues but is a good signing as he is 26 and does have talent.
Samuel was a risk last year but he's proven capable and is an upgrade over what we had. He adds to the DB room.
I'm not sure I understand the Johnston deal, Waitman did a good job.
Savage adds some quality to the DB room.

What I don't like.
QB and WR are still glaring needs.
The trade for Pittman. While it does upgrade the WR room, it is incomplete at best. The departure of speedy Calvin Austin amplifies the incompleteness and stamps an exclamation point on WR.
* A WR like Dyami Brown (26) has great speed and can stretch the field, forcing the secondary to think. He could be had with a decent contract. The Jags didn't utilize him well at all.

Instead of Brisker, Geno Stone might have been a better choice. He's more durable and plays single high as well as 2-deep well.

I kind of think an interior lineman is needed. Not necessarily a starter but a solid guy who probably will backup a rookie draft pick. There's quite a few available. Losing Seumalo is a hit.

 

Always a caution to the team that wins the offseason. Good signings, but fans should temper expectations until TC.

 

The best lineup might be to have Ramsey play slot CB if they keep him around.

 

Washington was the undisputed champion of the offseason 2000-2010. I remember the praises for the Dana Stubblefield and Dan "Big Daddy" Wilkerson.... and so many other moves.
Thankfully, Pittsburgh did not do that. So far, it appears to be on the mild side and a bit incomplete. No real splash signings.
Kyler Murray and Malik Willis are off the market thank God.

I do prefer to build in the draft as a side note..

 

The secondary is still missing a quicker/agile NB type. Echols got worked by anyone who was any good in that role. The idea that Ramsey can't run on the outside at CB but can run on the inside is a silly one to me. Ramsey is a safety or he should be cut. That's the reality of getting old in the NFL. Now...if you want to go full sub package on passing downs and drop Ramsey down to like the LBer level....that might have some legs.

But....the draft is yet to come. Get another CB and another safety. Suddenly the backfield looks far better. Might help the pass rush. Can't dump the ball in under 2 seconds as easily.

 

i think the driscoll re-signing helps relieve the backup o-line role somewhat. he is a solid reserve.

 

Even if he is 100 percent now, it would make no sense to trust Holcomb. It wasn't just that one injury. He had trouble staying healthy before he got to the Steelers, too.

 

Given Holcomb's injury history, I don't think that is true at all.

 

I think Samuel could end up in the slot.

 

I don't mind Driscoll... but it is a net zero signing. He was already here.
The idea is to have the best horses in the stable at linemen so I think they can pick up an interior lineman relatively at a decent wage and work on not having such a steep drop-off in talent between starters and backups.

I think our O line coaching is improved and that also should be factored in.

 

Oh yeah!

I totally forgot about him. Good call.

 

Friday the 13th, how appropriate:

Friday's A Big Commitment Day For Steelers With DB Jalen Ramsey - Steelers Depot

 

I’m sure they’re just salty about 2024 when he missed most of the season (12 games)? The other three years he missed a total of 4 games… it’s a one year deal and he’s a good player when available. I don’t think there’s any downside.

Plus on a one year deal for 2 potential safeties competing for the job (and Jalen Ramsey able to be cut at any time for no dead money), it means we still can go look at a starting S in the draft if we wanted to.

 

Agree. While on paper the DB room looks stocked look at what happened last season.

Thornhill - FAIL, cut halfway through the season
Clark - TERRIBLE, never understood the signing
Elliot - INJURED reserve after a handful of games

Things can go south real quick in this league.