Free agency provides hope for franchises that think they are one or two players away from competing for a Super Bowl. Just look at Sam Darnold last year for the Seattle Seahawks as the dream of what could happen. Less talked about are the teams that set themselves up for failure in the process, either with inaction or inflated contracts.
The Pittsburgh Steelers employed an interesting strategy last year, for example, only signing players who were cut to avoid missing out on compensatory picks in this year’s draft. The result? Trading and overpaying for DK Metcalf, signing 34-year-old Darius Slay to an inflated one-year contract, and leaving holes on the roster that could have been filled with quality players.
It made sense to do that with several compensatory picks to gain in 2026, but there is little question that it hampered the Steelers’ potential in 2025.
With that in mind, here are three free agency traps the Steelers should avoid this year.
Chasing Comp Picks Again
With the 2027 class projected to be very strong, it may be tempting to use the same strategy this year. That would be a mistake.
The Steelers’ most valuable free agents are Isaac Seumalo, James Pierre, Asante Samuel Jr., Kyle Dugger, Kenneth Gainwell, and Calvin Austin III. The Steelers are unlikely to let all of them walk in the first place, and nobody is commanding third-round comp pick money. Isaac Seumalo could get a nice contract, but his comp-pick return is capped at a fifth rounder due to having 10 accrued NFL seasons.
At best, the Steelers would have to get creative to salvage a couple of fifth-round comp picks. That’s hardly worth it if it means sacrificing the opportunity to get building blocks for now and the future in free agency.
Overpaying for Malik Willis
Willis is still a projection, and he isn’t going to come cheap. It was one thing to offer around $20 million for Justin Fields, with whom Pittsburgh was already familiar, but to overextend themselves on a QB they don’t know? Pittsburgh should pass. Willis only has 155 NFL passing attempts. They were impressive, sure, but hardly conclusive.
Even if it’s a one-year deal, that means getting no looks at Will Howard. And Willis will likely push for a two- or three-year deal if he has multiple teams wanting his services. That is way too big of a commitment for the Steelers to make to Willis right now.
Prioritizing Internal FAs
James Pierre has been solid, and Asante Samuel Jr. has potential. Kenneth Gainwell is the reigning team MVP, and Calvin Austin III has been a good locker room guy. All those things are true, but change has to come from somewhere on the roster. It wasn’t just coaching deficiencies that made the Steelers underperform in 2025. They had a talent deficit, and it would be very easy to walk into next season with largely the same roster. They shouldn’t want that at all.
With a new coaching staff, they shouldn’t be shy about overhauling certain areas of the roster. The Steelers have plenty of cap space to make a splash move or two, and Kevin Colbert’s poor drafting over his last few years is still being felt with the overall talent level at some positions.
Recommended for you