The Pittsburgh Steelers have a lot of things to consider this offseason. First is the quarterback juggle, and the second is the rest of the roster in the franchise. As per reports, for the QB situation, the team’s owner is preferring Russell Wilson over Justin Fields. And for the rest of the roster, the work is still in progress – such as the latest highlighting move by coach Mike Tomlin.
This past season, the Pittsburgh Steelers made it into the playoffs. But their continuous five losses showed them the exit door too soon. Since then, Mike Tomlin and the Steelers have promised themselves to make the shuffles in the franchise. This time, they thought about LB Preston Smith.
According to the Steelers’s official X account, “We have released LB Preston Smith.” They also tagged Bordas & Bordas, the reported law and talent agency who manages the players and their financial deals. With this $52 million veteran outside linebacker’s exit, the team will now clear $13.4 million in 2025 cap space and $14.1 million in 2026. In addition, they won’t be having any dead money from this move.
Two weeks ago, the news came out that Preston Smith is about to be released. And the day has finally come. His performance record this season was just two sacks and two quarterback hits in eight games. Even Mike Tomlin didn’t let him play in the wildcard round.
Ahead of coming into Mike Tomlin’s system, Preston Smith claimed “I didn’t feel like I was being useful in the system.” He said this about the Packers’s system (his previous team). Hence, he requested for a trade from them, noting that the Steelers’s system fascinates him – “Just being back in the system is like riding your favorite bike again.” But now after being acquired by the Steel City in last November, it seemed his bike failed. Hence, the decision.
But not only Smith, Mike Tomlin also made tough decisions for his coaching staff.
“Certainly, there’s change that comes with this time of year. Certainly, there’s change that comes when you don’t have desired outcome, and so those are just the realities of the business.” Mike Tomlin wrapped up his 2024 season with these remarks, hinting that he would be making some tough moves this offseason. And he is already on it!
According to the reports, Mike Tomlin and his Steelers have cut ties with DB coach Grady Brown and linebackers coach Aaron Curry. This news perplexed many, and the reason was their good role performance-wise. Neither was considered a weak link. In fact, Curry helped reshape the linebacker unit, coaching Patrick Queen to a Pro Bowl and guiding rookie Payton Wilson.
Brown, on the other hand, turned Joey Porter Jr. into a shutdown corner – holding quarterbacks to just a 16.5 passer rating when targeting him, the second-best in the league. So why let them go? Well, according to Steelers insider Ray Fittipaldo, this was all Mike Tomlin’s call. He pointed to blown coverages late in the season, mistakes that kept happening even in crucial games especially against the Colts and Cowboys. Hence, Tomlin clearly felt it was time for a change!
