2018 was a tough season for the Pittsburgh Steelers and their fans. A 9-6-1 record and no playoffs were bad enough but all the drama and nonsense off the field training camp couldn’t get here soon enough. But before we look ahead we wanted to do a little offseason in review for Pittsburgh.
The big moves
After the end of last season, everyone knew it was only a matter of time before wide receiver Antonio Brown would be gone. The soap opera of the final week of the regular season and the following few weeks was a real low point for the franchise in terms of public perception.
Brown did everything he could to make himself impossible to keep and Pittsburgh finally worked a deal with the Oakland Raiders to send Brown packing. Brown has been the most productive receiver in the league over the last six seasons and won’t be easy to replace.
Then there was the new contract quarterback Ben Roethlisberger signed. Pittsburgh wanted to be sure Big Ben got one more big contract and they delivered. Pittsburgh added two more seasons to Roethlisberger’s contract and made him one of the highest-paid quarterbacks in the league over the 2020 and 2021 seasons.
Free agency
The Steelers had their most active free-agency period during the Mike Tomlin era this year. Pittsburgh signed cornerback Steven Nelson to the largest free-agent contract in franchise history. He should start opposite Joe Haden.
The Steelers also signed linebacker Mark Barron to continue to bolster the athleticism on defense. He should end up a valuable piece of the Steelers sub-package defense.
Finally Pittsburgh went to free agency to fill the void left when Brown left by signing Donte Moncrief. Moncrief has a ton of upside and might just need a new team to show it.
The one big subtraction of the offseason was running back Le’Veon Bell. The only mystery going into the offseason would be which team would open up the checkbook for Bell and it ended up being the New York Jets.
The rest of the offseason free-agent moves:
Tyson Alualu signed two-year contract to stay with the Steelers.
Zach Banner signed a one-year contract to stay with the Steelers.
Morgan Burnett signed a two-year contract with the Cleveland Browns.
Jordan Berry signed a two-year contract to stay with the Steelers.
Kameron Canaday signed a one-year contract to stay with the Steelers.
Anthony Chickillo signed a two-year contract to stay with the Steelers.
L.J. Fort signed a three-year contract with the Philadelphia Eagles.
Ramon Foster signed a two-year contract to stay with the Steelers.
Jesse James signed a four-year contract with the Detroit Lions.
Dan McCullers signed a two-year contract to stay with the Steelers.
Eli Rogers signed a two-year contract to stay with the Steelers.
NFL draft
The Steelers continued the trend of being bold with the 2019 NFL draft. Despite adding Nelson, Moncrief and Barron in free agency, the Steelers doubled down on all three spots in the draft. Their big move was the trade up to No. 10 to draft linebacker Devin Bush. Here’s the Steelers full 2019 NFL draft haul.
First round — Devin Bush, LB
Third round — Diontae Johnson, WR
Third round — Justin Layne, CB
Fourth round — Benny Snell Jr., RB
Fifth round — Zach Gentry, TE
Sixth round — Sutton Smith, LB
Sixth round — Isaiah Buggs, DL
Sixth round — Ulysees Gilbert III, LB
Seventh round — Derwin Gray, OL
