It has been an exciting offseason for the Pittsburgh Steelers. With the addition of some big-name veteran players, and another impressive draft class, the expectations are high in the Steel City. The Steelers feel and look like a completely new roster with just a few weeks to go until the regular season kicks off. Head Coach Mike Tomlin believes that his team will be very successful in 2025, but one NFL insider believes that he might be too confident in his group.
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Pittsburgh Steelers Head Coach Mike Tomlin during 2025 training camp in Latrobe, PA.
Tomlin recently told 102.5 WDVE that he believes that the Steelers can do "historic things" in 2025, specifically when it comes to the defense. With the addition of players like Jalen Ramey and Darius Slay, and four-time NFL Most Valuable Player Aaron Rodgers, Tomlin is confident that this season will be different than Steelers seasons of recent years.
NBC's Mike Florio isn't as confident in the Steelers, and on a recent episode of Pro Football Talk, Florio slammed Tomlin for his confidence, first claiming that the 2025 Steelers aren't much different than the 2024 Steelers.
"They swapped in Jalen Ramsey for Minkah Fitzpatrick, other than that it's basically the same defense, am I wrong?" Florio said. "It's basically the same defense, and it wasn't quite historic last year."
The Steelers' defense was in no way historic in 2024, especially in its embarrassing Wild Card Round loss to the Baltimore Ravens, however it was still a top 10 unit in the league in points allowed per game and tied for the league lead in takeaways.
With the addition of Ramsey and Slay, along with the drafting of Oregon's Derrick Harmon, Ohio State's Jack Sawyer, and Iowa's Yahya Black, the Steelers making an attempt to fix some holes on the defensive side of the ball. Not only is adding new players key, but Pittsburgh also needs to see an improvement from the offense in order to help out the defense.
"They always work together [offense and defense]," Florio said. "You can't have a great defense with an offense that is horrendous because it's puts more pressure on the defense if you're turning the ball over, short fields, short possesions, three & outs, your defense gets wiped out."
Pittsburgh also made the attempt to improve the offense during the offseason. Despite being the oldest starting quarterback in the NFL, the Steelers believe that Rodgers can be an improvement from Justin Fields and Russell Wilson.
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Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers (8) during 2025 training camp in Latrobe, PA.
With the blockbuster trades for Metcalf and Smith, along with the drafting of Kaleb Johnson from Iowa, Pittsburgh hopes for a better offensive showing in 2025. However, the Steelers' offense experienced their fare share of growing pains during training camp, and although they looked better some days than others, Florio isn't convinced that they will be an elite group this season.
"Is [Tomlin] just trying to distract us from the fact that maybe the offense isn't clicking the way that they had hoped?" Florio asked. "If you're not going to play Aaron Rodgers in the preseason, that puts even more pressure on your team when Week 1 rolls around."
Another concern for the Steelers is their current situation with four-time First Team All-Pro defensive lineman, Cameron Heyward. Heyward and the Steelers are currently in a contract dispute, and the timeline for his return is far from clear.
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Steelers' Cam Heyward gets ready to make a play during Week 14 against the Cleveland Browns.
Florio said that not having Heyward will only hurt the Steelers' defense more.
"They got to work out this issue with Cam Heyward. It's hard to have a historic defense if one of your best defensive players isn't on the field because he isn't happy with his contract," Florio noted.
Steelers' Timing Is Strange
The Steelers have seemed to have entered win-now mode. With all the recent transactions and acquisitions, along with the word that this will be Rodgers' final season, Pittsburgh is aiming for a Super Bowl in 2025, and Florio doesn't agree.
"I feel like this is just a strange time for the Steelers, and it seems odd for Mike Tomlin to be boasting so openly, when we really don't know what they're going to be this year," Florio said.
Do you think that the Steelers have the chance to have a historic defense in 2025? Or do you agree with Florio? Let us know in the comments below!
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