The search for an inside linebacker has been a long and frustrating process since the Ryan Shazier era ended. Shazier was injured late in the 2017 season, and the process to find his replacement has failed. This is illustrated perfectly in Touchdown Wire’s Top 11 linebackers of 2023, none of whom are current or former Steelers.
Pittsburgh completely cleaned house with their inside linebacker depth chart in the offseason. Devin Bush and Robert Spillane signed elsewhere as free agents, and Pittsburgh outright released Myles Jack. None of them made the list. Even looking back at other inside linebackers the Steelers had signed to replace Shazier like Joe Schobert, none are to be found.
Then you look at the two free-agent additions the Steelers made this offseason — Cole Holcomb and Elandon Roberts — to replace that trio of players who moved on. Also nowhere to be found. Interestingly, one player who is on the list is Chicago Bears linebacker Tremaine Edmunds, who was a popular free-agent target for the Steelers early in the offseason.
