Behind the Steel Curtain
Over the next two weeks, Ryland Bickley and Ryan Parish will present how they would run the Steelers’ offseason if they were GM. First up: Bickley’s plan.
Welcome back Steelers Nation! After taking a much-needed break, Read & React is back and ready to dive into all the burning questions and discussion the NFL offseason provides.
And what better way to start the offseason than outlining how we would run the Steelers if given the chance? Over the next two weeks — getting in ahead of the Free Agency period — we’ll each put on our GM hat and outline what we would do if we were in Omar Khan’s shoes. While one of us presents our offseason blueprint, the other will poke and prod, and potentially cheer or jeer at our counterpart’s plan.
It’s important to note these are not meant to be predictions of what the Steelers WILL do — though it’s hard not to have that influence our choices to some degree — but rather what WE would do if given full control and final say over Pittsburgh’s roster.
These offseason blueprints will cover everything from managing the current roster, free agency, trades, and the NFL Draft. However, we won’t be talking coaching staff changes as the window for that has seemingly passed.
There’s a lot to get into, so let’s dive in.
RP: Alright, GM Bickley, we’re kicking things off with you. What’s your assessment of the state of the Steelers’ roster? How do you view the franchise’s current trajectory? And how does that influence your team-building philosophy as you approach this offseason?
RB: I’ll talk trajectory first because that informs the rest of this article: Frankly, I see the Steelers continuing to have eight- to ten-win seasons with minimal playoff success until the team finds a true game-changing talent at quarterback. Unfortunately, this is not the offseason to find that player.
The goal is to take a flier at some point because there’s a universe where you find the next Tom Brady, Brock Purdy, etc., but in the spirit of trying to avoid doing this exercise Madden-style, we won’t be trading for Matthew Stafford, Geno Smith, or a first-round pick that lands Cam Ward.
I’d be all-in on trading a Day 2 pick for Stafford, but I still don’t see that happening even if I’ll admit it’s looking more realistic by the week. If it’s not an overpay and the Steelers build a good team around him, I’d be cautiously optimistic — but I still think the Stafford trade rumors are a ploy to get more money from the Rams. We’ll leave that in the rumor mill for now.
Without a surefire franchise quarterback, 2025 looks like a disappointing season for anyone hoping for a Super Bowl right away. However, if you view the NFL as a long game, some exciting stuff can happen.
In a nutshell, my current roster evaluation is that there’s a talent deficiency on offense and an overly top-heavy approach on...
