Player: S Darnell Savage
Stock Value: Purchased
Reasoning: Added as depth, S Darnell Savage certainly helps bolster the Steelers’ secondary, in contrast to last season. A year ago, they had no choice but to adjust on the fly, adding veterans as necessary. Bringing in Savage now, they have an entire offseason to onboard him and maybe even find him a role.
Former Steelers HC Mike Tomlin loved himself some pedigree. He’s gone now, but Mike McCarthy got himself a pedigreed safety in Darnell Savage. A former first-round pick of the Packers, though after McCarthy’s time, he certainly brings experience. But it’s quite clear he isn’t coming here to start. They already have a multitude of options there, so how will he fit in?
Well, let’s start counting. The Steelers’ top five players in the secondary are Joey Porter Jr., Jamel Dean, Jalen Ramsey, DeShon Elliott, and Jaquan Brisker. You can presumably put Darnell Savage in right behind there, making him a candidate for dime back.
And that’s certainly something they should strongly consider, having moved away from it last year. With Ramsey’s versatility, they have a multitude of options for moving parts. Although nominally a safety, he can take some snaps in the slot if that’s how the coaches want to line it up. Or he could play safety, and Brisker could slide down into the slot, or something. Really, the Steelers long preferred a “big dime” with three safeties, anyway.
Over the course of his career, Darnell Savage has started 83 of 97 games, logging 5,452 snaps. Not even 29 years old yet, he is at a transitional moment in his career with seven seasons under his belt. Last season, he found himself a nomad, bouncing from team to team. Before that, he was a starter. Jabrill Peppers and Chuck Clark were in similar positions, but Savage is potentially a stronger option. And he’s already here in March, so that’s already a plus.
With the 2025 season behind us and the new league year underway, we still have stock to take. Already promisinga year of change, they are shaking things up. That is unavoidable, of course, when you gut the coaching staff. Mike Tomlin’s resignation will fundamentally change this football team, including the playoffs on the roster.
After a long season, we have finally seen that this Steelers team is playoff-bound. But they also showed that their progress was actually minimal,since they made it no further. Two years in a row, with two different quarterbacks, they went 10-7 and lost in the Wild Card Round. The only differences are they ended the season on a higher note and won the division. But it didn’t help.
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