Monday, Pittsburgh Steelers' general manager, Kevin Colbert had a lot to say regarding the current state of the team as he addressed the media.
From his thoughts on the starting quarterback situation, to his insight on Devin Bush and Kendrick Green, Colbert provided some slight clarity for Steeler Nation on numerous topics.
One question that has entered the mind of many Steelers' fans has been what will the team do in regards to the amount of money the team spends in free agency this off-season. Right now, the Steelers have roughly $28.7 million in cap space according to OverTheCap.com. In past years, the franchise hasn't had much to work with by season's end ($17 million total from 2018-2021 according to Spotrac.com), which continues to beg the question, with a little more room to work with in 2022 as far as cap space goes, will the team go after more "big name" free agents once the free agency period begins in March 2022? One would think, absolutely. Of course. Why wouldn't they?
According to Colbert on Monday however, he's saying not so fast:
Kevin Colbert said just because the Steelers have a significant amount of cap space doesn't necessarily mean they'll drastically change their free agency approach. But, he said, Steelers have not historically been aggressive in FA, mostly bc of tight caps.
— Brooke Pryor (@bepryor) February 21, 2022
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The Steelers have a laundry list of players they either need to re-sign, or bolster several positions via free agency and/or the NFL Draft. Some of those notable names include Joe Haden, JuJu Smith-Schuster, Ahkello Witherspoon, Terrell Edmunds, James Washington, Ray-Ray McCloud, and Chukwuma Okorafor.
Here at SteelerNation.com, we've gathered plenty of intel this month on who the Steelers might want to go after in free agency if they're not able to retain the players listed above. Some have recent Super Bowl experience, while some might be a healthy change of pace for Najee Harris, but others address the elephant in the room regarding who will be the Steelers next franchise quarterback?
Historically, the Steelers have created a blueprint that has since been proven -- build through the NFL Draft, and supplement that talent with affordable veteran free agents. While this method has worked for the Steelers over the past few decades, both the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Los Angeles Rams have proven that if you go out and trade for and/or sign the "big name" talent, that can also be a recipe for Super Bowl success. We've seen names like Tom Brady, Antonio Brown, Matthew Stafford, Odell Beckham Jr. and Von Miller to name a few, make the switch to a Super Bowl contender, and it paid off.
Will this finally be the year the Steelers ultimately pull that "big name" trigger, or will the team continue its old habits?
What do yinz think? Is it time to splurge? Or if it ain't broke, don't break it? Comment below!
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