How does Jack Sawyer fit into the Steelers’ long-term outside linebacker picture?
With three outside linebackers already making big bucks, where does Jack Sawyer fit into the picture for the Steelers? Between T.J. Watt, Alex Highsmith, and Nick Herbig, the coaches will already have their hands full trying to find each of them a sufficient amount of playing time. Even with a robust 3-OLB package, you’d be hard-pressed to get each of them north of 70 percent.
The thing is, two-thirds of this outside linebacker trio is now under contract for at least the length of Jack Sawyer’s rookie contract for the Steelers. Alex Highsmith’s contract runs out a year earlier, but they could extend him in 2027. Where does that leave the 2025 fourth-round pick?
Obviously, this is a good problem to have, three outside linebackers who justify this kind of money. And trying to figure out how to incorporate Jack Sawyer into the mix is, quite frankly, a luxury. But just because he doesn’t have a high salary doesn’t mean he can’t earn playing time. In case you’ve forgotten, this league runs on “cheap” labor to offset the megadeals.
Sawyer had a nice rookie season, improbably coming away with not one but two interceptions. He only had one sack in the regular season, but added a strip sack in the playoffs. Collegiately, he came up in big moments, and he even managed to do that in spurts in Pittsburgh.
Still, it could be difficult for the Steelers to ascertain a complete picture of him. In any group that includes T.J. Watt, Alex Highsmith, and Nick Herbig, Jack Sawyer will be fourth. And unless they’re really strict about having a rotation, he’s going to see by far the lowest snap share. It will be hard to evaluate him, or at least it could be quite hard.
Generally speaking, teams want to figure out who a player is by the end of his rookie contract. They want to know, after all, if it’s worth making a big investment in them. A player like Sawyer, in a deep room, runs the risk of getting lost in the shuffle. How are the Steelers preparing for this, and how do they view his long-term potential?
The Steelers have a long road ahead of them under Mike McCarthy, along with his cadre of quarterbacks.With seven consecutive postseason losses, and no wins in nearly a decade, they are under fire for their repeated playoff failures. While we have seen many changes, none could dream of topping Mike Tomlin resigning.
We’re already deep into the offseason, with free agency and the draft already reshaping rosters. The Steelers, of course, are used to early offseason mode as a team thatloses by the middle of January all the time. Enjoy the ride, even the turbulence, because it’s the only way we know how to travel anymore.
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