There are 24 players on the Pittsburgh Steelers roster that are currently set to become free agents at the beginning of the new league year, and it seems likely that a good number of them won’t be back for 2025.
So which players have played their last game in Black and Gold and which free agents will likely be back for the Steelers in 2025?
Let’s break it down:
ALMOST CERTAINLY GONE
LT Dan Moore Jr.
RB Najee Harris
The writing has been on the wall with these two for quite some time. For Dan Moore, it was evidence last April, when the Steelers used their second consecutive first-round draft pick on tackle Troy Fautanu. Between Fautanu and Broderick Jones, the Steelers have already invested a ton into the offensive tackle position. It’s hard to envision them doing so in triplicate by re-signing Moore, who has earned a starter’s salary at the position somewhere.
For Harris, the Steelers had a shot to bring him back for 2025 at a relatively inexpensive contract via the fifth-year option on his rookie contract. Instead, they’d now have to pay full price for Harris in 2025 and beyond. With free agent running backs having strong seasons around the NFL in 2024, and Harris clearly the best hitting the market, the Steelers will likely have to pay double the price they already passed on to have Harris back in the fold in 2025. It’s hard to see that happening.
LEANING TOWARD LEAVING
QB Russell Wilson
CB Donte Jackson
CB Cam Sutton
RG James Daniels
TE MyCole Pruitt
WR Mike Williams
WR Van Jefferson
It’s hard to envision, after the way he closed the season, Russell Wilson returning as the unquestioned starter in Pittsburgh in 2025, or for that matter, getting that opportunity anywhere else.
Wilson played better than expected when he first took the starting reins with the Steelers, but the second half of his season was a mess, with four straight substandard performances to close the regular season. Things looked better on paper in the playoffs against the Ravens, but that was mostly because the game got so lopsided, so quickly.
Wilson struggled to go through is progressions and find open receivers. His playmaking ability with his legs, either by running or by extending plays in the backfield, seems to have left him. The only thing he still has is his deep ball, but an offense can’t be built on just that. There is almost no upside to signing a 37-year-old to be your starting quarterback. The Steelers need more for that position in 2025 than they got in 2024, and it’s almost impossible to see Wilson providing it.
The veterans at cornerback, Cam Sutton and Donte Jackson, both struggled down the stretch run of the 2024 season, and it’s hard to imagine either being back. In fact, you could make a pretty good argument that the Steelers would have been better served by simply playing Cory Trice Jr. and Beanie Bishop, and living with the warts those younger players may have shown for development’s sake.
Daniels may not even be healthy to start the season as he rehabs his Achilles injury. Mason McCormick exceeded expectations as a fourth-round pick out of FCS South Dakota State in replacing Daniels. But did he play well enough for the Steelers to ignore the guard position this offseason entirely? That’s another question.
Finally, the single biggest offseason need is at wide receiver, so it tracks that very few of the team’s internal free agents will be back. Expect the team to be active in the trade market, free agency and the draft — any way to upgrade upon the outgoing members of that room.
TOSS UP
QB Justin Fields
QB Kyle Allen
FS Damontae Kazee
CB James Pierre
LB Tyler Matakevich
There are a number of obvious options for the Steelers to turn to at quarterback if they decide not to bring Wilson back for 2025. None of them are particularly enthralling. There’s washed-out former top draft picks like Daniel Jones, Zach Wilson and Trey Lance, they could grab another cheap vet on a buyout, potentially like Kirk Cousins, or be the team to throw a boatload of money at Sam Darnold.
Bringing back Justin Fields isn’t a sure thing, but it seems to make more sense than most of the rest of those moves.
On defense, players like Damontae Kazee, Tyler Matakevich and James Pierre have generally done their jobs when asked to, but are no longer young, and hold roster spots that could be given to draft picks with more potential.
WILL PROBABLY BE BACK
WR Ben Skowronek
ILB Elandon Roberts
DL Isaiahh Loudermilk
OLB Jeremiah Moon (ERFA)
RB Jaylen Warren (RFA)
C Ryan McCollum (ERFA)
Jaylen Warren needs a contract, and the price point could be contentious, but it’s almost impossible to imagine the Steelers jettisoning both of their top running backs. With Harris likely on the way out, Warren will almost certainly be back, with some more change in his pockets than the UDFA contract he’s been living on.
Elandon Roberts has said he wants he to be back, and the Steelers don’t have another player like him in the linebackers room that can stop the run as effectively as he can. Seems like a no-brainer.
If there’s one thing the Steelers love, it’s a physical wide receiver that can play on special teams, and Ben Skowronek seems to fit that bill perfectly. He’s been the one unexpected bright spot of an otherwise moribund unit.
Ryan McCollum played well when he filled in for Zach Frazier, and he’s an exclusive rights free agent, so he’ll almost certainly be back. Jeremiah Moon has been an effective enough special teamer to return at that price, as well.
OTHERS ON THE BOARD
Of course, that’s only the players that have expiring contracts. There are plenty of others that could be on the way out. George Pickens has a very uncertain future with the team, as he enters a contract year. Preston Smith looks like a likely cap casualty and Larry Ogunjobi could be, as well. Cordarrelle Patterson struggled at his primary role of kick returner and could be replaced.