PITTSBURGH — The Steelers' first week of free agency has been somewhat underwhelming. That's not a surprise because it is always a slow time for the Steelers, but they have still made some moves that are puzzling to say the least.
They made their first big move a few weeks ago when they agreed to a contract with Ben Roethlisberger. That should have sent a clear message they were all in and playing to win a Super Bowl next season.
Yes, they have salary cap issues, but they also have a knack for figuring out how to navigate around those. And they freed up cap space by extending some contracts, restructuring some contracts and having Roethlisberger take a pay cut. It all seemed like, at the very least, they were going to have money to retain some of their top players.
Instead they have allowed a number of key players to walk out the door, have signed players like Chris Wormley — a depth player at best — and have now even made it known they are trying to trade cornerback Steven Nelson.
The other puzzling thing is the one major free agent of theirs that they signed, JuJu Smith-Schuster, was by far their least important. It's nothing against Smith-Schuster because he is a good football player, but he is a No. 2 receiver miscast as a No. 1 receiver and isn't a game changer or game breaker.
Smith-Schuster played it well once it became clear the market for receivers was not lucrative. Teams weren't going to spend big money on free agent receivers in this market with the salary cap being as low as it is. The Ravens and Chiefs offered him a little more money than the Steelers, but it was not significant enough for him to leave.
Now he gets to be the "I took less to stay here" hero knowing full well this was his best chance to have a big year and cash in next season when the salary cap increases.
The Steelers have many more needs, especially on defense, than wide receiver. They could get a player to do what Smith-Schuster does in the draft or in free agency for a lot less than $8 million. It seems like a move designed more to appease Roethlisberger — who lobbied hard for the Steelers to sign Smith-Schuster — than anything else.
If the trade-off to bring Smith-Schuster back was having to let Nelson go, it was a horrible decision. Yes the Steelers signed Cam Sutton and he can play corner, but the loss of Nelson and Mike Hilton means the secondary is now undermanned.
The Steelers also have holes at outside linebacker, inside linebacker, tight end, offensive line and running back. They didn't have a hole at receiver and all of those other positions are critically thin right now.
It isn't the move of a team serious about competing for, and winning, a Super Bowl next season. It is a team that is trying to have it both ways: They want to slop together enough of a roster to try and make the playoffs, while looking ahead and trying to retool.
That approach almost never works, and frankly, I go back to the thought that they would have been better off without bringing Roethlisberger back. They could have saved the $19 million, perhaps signed an offensive lineman, kept Hilton and still allowed some veterans to walk. This would have begun the process of rebuilding the roster and getting back to being actual Super Bowl contenders.
I know, the Steelers apologists will tell you the Steelers always figure it out! They will tell you they are always competitive, that Mike Tomlin has never had a losing season, that they know what they are doing and that they shouldn't be questioned. They will say things like they aren't the Jets or Lions or some other sorry organization that can't get out of its own way.
OK, I suppose if you want to look through rose-colored glasses and ignore the reality of who the Steelers really are, all of that nonsensical pie-in-the-sky stuff works. But the Steelers haven't been that organization all of their apologists want them to be for quite some time.
This is now a team that rarely wins playoff games, that collapses down the stretch and that does just enough to keep a competitive roster around. They have been true Super Bowl contenders exactly once since 2010 — and even that year they got skull-dragged by the Patriots in the AFC title game.
I'm sure the Steelers have a plan. I'm sure the Steelers will still fool enough people into believing they are building a contender. I'm sure their apologists will rationalize enough of their moves that they will get away with it, again.
The other thing I am sure of, though, is that the Steelers are kidding themselves if they think they are building a team capable of taking one last shot at a Super Bowl run with Roethlisberger as their quarterback.
