Steelers Now
The Pittsburgh Steelers drafted tackles with their first-round pick in each of their last two NFL Draft classes, but one NFL analyst sees them making a big splash in free agency at the position this offseason, as well.
Fansided national NFL analyst Nick Villano broke down top landing spots for the top 30 NFL free agents, and has the Steelers making a surprising move by snatching free agent tackle Ronnie Stanley away from their divisional rivals, the Baltimore Ravens.
“There is a severe need for a decent left tackle in the Steel City, with the Dan Moore Jr. experiment hopefully ending for good,” Villano wrote. “Put Stanley there to protect Justin Fields, and you have a guy who is used to blocking for a shifty quarterback.”
Villano made no mention of what that would mean for first-round tackles Broderick Jones and/or Troy Fautanu, with one of the two seemingly out of a job in this scenario. One of those players could theoretically kick inside to guard, or could have to battle Stanley for a starting job.
With Moore expected to hit the free agent market, the Steelers will almost certainly want to add some kind of veteran depth in the tackle department to supplant Jones and Fautanu, but they may not want to spend the kind of coin it would take to pry Stanley away from Baltimore. Spotrac has projected Stanley’s market value to be $20.7 million per year.
Stanley, 30, was the Ravens’ first-round pick in the 2016 NFL Draft. He has battled through a number of injuries in recent seasons that limited him to 18 games over a three-year span from 2020-22.
But he played in all 17 games in 2024, earning his second career Pro Bowl nod in the process. That has Stanley rising up the free agent market. He played in 2024 under a one-year, $7.5 million contract, but appears set to cash in this offseason.
Whether that will be with the Steelers remains to be seen, but he team certainly has a need at tackle entering 2025.
