**Player: S Juan Thornhill**
**Stock Value: Up**
**Reasoning:** _With Minkah Fitzpatrick gone, Juan Thornhill is now much more valuable to the Steelers, but to what extent? Fitzpatrick is a player who would ordinarily play every single defensive snap if he is healthy. Pittsburgh has over 1,000 snaps to account for, and Thornhill will likely be a significant factor. How significant he is in that equation, we do not yet know._
Juan Thornhill could be the Steelers’ starting free safety for the 2025 season after the team traded All-Pro Minkah Fitzpatrick. Irrespective of their motivation behind the move, the fact is that they have over 1,000 snaps to replace. We won’t hear from the team until they get to training camp, so we have no insight into their plans.
While the Steelers reportedly very much view trade acquisition Jalen Ramsey as safety-capable, how hard do they want to lean into that? Does anybody really see Ramsey playing 1,000-plus snaps at safety this year in Pittsburgh? Assuming that is not their plan, the next logical option is Juan Thornhill.
Coming off a trying two years in Cleveland, which anybody who has spent two years there can say, Thornhill signed a one-year, $3 million contract with the Steelers. He brings with him 4,663 defensive snaps and 74 career starts at safety. Soon to turn 30 years old, he certainly brings experience with him.
But there is a reason Thornhill signed a contract worth only $3 million. When the Steelers brought him in, they weren’t planning on him coming in as a 1-for-1 substitution for Minkah Fitzpatrick. Even coming off some down seasons, Fitzpatrick remains a very talented player still on the right side of 30.
If the Steelers don’t use Juan Thornhill at safety, what are their alternatives? We already mentioned Ramsey, but it’s hard to envision that as a full-time, down-in, down-out role in 2025. The problem is, they now lack depth, featuring special-teamer Miles Killebrew and rookie Sebastian Castro. And both are more of a strong safety build than free safety. If they don’t sign another significant safety like Justin Simmons, a meaningful role for Thornhill seems inevitable.
_With the new league year underway and the Steelers turning their roster over, it’s once again time to “take stock”. It took a while, but we finally saw some of that_ [_change the team talked about_](https://steelersdepot.com/2025/02/steelers-make-their-coaching-changes-they-still-manage-to-disappoint/) _after the season ended. Certainly, the move to trade for WR DK Metcalf qualifies as a change, not to mention the accompanying contract. Oh, and they also traded some guy named George Pickens, which people found significant._
_There is still a long way to go before we know what this Steelers team is going to look like. The dust is settled on both free agency and_ [_the 2025 NFL Draft_](https://www.nfl.com/draft/)_. What other moves might the team make, perhaps unexpected acquisitions or departures? If they traded for one player, they could certainly trade for another, or trade one away. This is a Steelers team starving for postseason success, but how desperate are they for a playoff win in 2025?_