2026 Free Agent Thread

I'm not sure if this is correct.

Here are a list of our UFA signings last year. https://www.spotrac.com/nfl/free-agents/_/year/2025/team/pit

No contracts > 2 years. Only 2 contracts in the double digits AAV.

Slay was obviously a huge miss. Thankfully only 1 year, pay as you go.

Rodgers I guess was a UFA 3rd+ contract last year. But it was for a pretty modest amount for a QB. And it was only a 1 year deal so it wasn't really much (any?) risk.

The Watt contract was an overpayment. But that's no break from what we used to do. Colbert would have happily extended Watt too. And Kahn would have been the one negotiating, so it probably looks the same.

2024: https://www.spotrac.com/nfl/free-agents/_/year/2024/team/pit

Queen contract has been a push at best, probably disappointing. But a big deal for a 2nd contract guy is probably the UFA moves you want to make (if you aren't just shopping in the discount bin...which I'd prefer because it would mean that our draft picks were worth big contracts and we didn't have to look outside the organization).

Every other contract was sub-$3.5MM AAV.

Instead of signing big UFAs, we brought in our big swings via trade last year (Metcalf and Ramsey). Not sure if that's better or worse. Ramsey did have a good season the year before per people like PFF (who I generally think isn't great at grading secondary guys or OL without knowing the assignments).

I think Metcalf was good when we could get him the ball. I think the two things he's most known for were on display last year: really good at YAC, hands are questionable. I think he'll look much better if we have another NFL WR or two on the roster. I didn't like the structure (guarantees) of the Metcalf deal, but I think that's just the way the that the NFL is going and the Steelers (and a couple of other hold-outs here) can't hold back the dam. I guess the "good news" here is that those guarantees are gone now (I think anyway).

 

Are you implying that lazy national media narratives drive the NFL "soap opera for dudes" talking points and often are not grounded in actual reality? Nah! That can not be! I heard the man on the TV say the Steelers were wild FA spenders and I read on the internet that they broke their salary cap to save Mike Tomlin's honor!

Please, kindly, recalibrate your talking points to align with what we have been told to be true. Thank you. have a wonderful day.

 

I wouldn't mind picking up Josh Downs and drafting Caleb Downs

 

Without doing the research and going by memory, of the 20 names on the 2025 list, I think that all were either a) Released before contract expired, b) low contract, or c) signed after the cutoff date to count against the formula. As many talked about last off-season, the idea was to earn as many high-value comp picks as possible. I don't think you take the same approach this year as there aren't the same team FAs to bring back valuable picks if re-signed by another team like Dan Moore or Justin Fields.

 

Will admit I didn't put a lot of research into it but, to clarify, I was referring to outside FAs looking for their second contract. Colbert didn't often sign an older outside FA (Hayden was an exception). Rodgers, Slay, Thornhill, Clark, all on 2+ contracts before the Steelers.

 

To me, experience matters with WRs and DBs. Rookies are fine but you are farther along with these positions having seen and played in this league. Who we pickup will determine a lot in this draft as far as spotting I think.