Steelers free agency rumors are starting to turn

The Steelers may be a team to watch in free agency, for once.

With free agency right around the corner, the rumor mill is starting to turn. For the first time in seemingly forever the Steelers name is being listed as options for so many of the available players. In a rumor roundup article from ESPN the Steelers were listed no less than four times as being landing spots for free agents. Something that would be unheard of in previous seasons. But with an abundance of cap space, and a list of roster holes, the Steelers can, and should, be players in this market.

The first player ESPN listed as the Steelers having interest in was of course Aaron Rodgers. But after conflicting reports of a trade being in place with a number of NFL franchises and Rodgers getting to choose his preferred destination, the story was all but shutdown. In this latest report many teams are tracking the situation, the Steelers are listed being one of them. The difference being the Steelers aren’t really doing much more than watching from the sidelines.

ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler said the following on the situation:

“The Pittsburgh Steelers are not considered a major player for Rodgers right now, but they are on the periphery.”.

The next name listed was also a quarterback, this time Buffalo Bills backup Mitch Trubisky. With his name getting red hot on the market in the recent weeks, the former Chicago Bears starter may be looking for another opportunity to start. Once again the Steelers were listed as being options, and the report goes as follows:

“Teams are openly discussing whether Trubisky gets $10 million or more annually on a new deal. That his name is a hot one is not manufactured. It’s real. His career reset in Buffalo went very well, and teams that will look to draft a quarterback could sign Trubisky to start this year. A Trubisky pairing with a first-round quarterback such as Malik Willis wouldn’t shock a few teams. The Panthers, Steelers, Commanders, Giants and potential Broncos are believed to be in the mix here.”

For those of us looking for offensive line help, thankfully the Steelers have been involved in this rumor mill as well. The latest being San Francisco 49ers Pro Bowl guard, Laken Tomlinson. A player of this caliber could certainly set the Steelers back on the right track with their blocking schemes. Fowler does report the interest will be wide spread to land the imposing player:

“Again with the 49ers. He’s emerging as a top guard available and could spark a bidding war closer to free agency. The Bengals, Panthers, Vikings, Steelers, Jets and Seahawks are among teams that will be in the guard market. Austin Corbett is also a buzzworthy name just below Tomlinson.”

And lastly, the final player listed in the article that the Steelers have some sort of interest in, is that of former Super Bowl champion Ryan Jensen. The starting Center from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. This report comes from Dan Graziano who stated the following

“One player I expect to generate a lot of interest on the free-agent market is center Ryan Jensen, who has the attention of the Jets, Bengals, Steelers and Baltimore Ravens, among others. So many teams are looking for offensive line help, and Jensen is viewed as a nasty tone-setter who could help a line with his attitude and ability. If multiple teams are as interested as it sounds they could be, Jensen could be a hot commodity and rake in a nice payday.”

My biggest takeaways from this rumors article was how the Steelers will in fact be interested in aggressively upgrading their offensive line and will actually be willing to spend this available money to make their team better. It is almost music to my ears to know they have interest in spots all across the offensive line, and likely won’t be busting the bank just to add another quarterback. For once, I can sit back and have faith in this team to make the moves necessary to improve this team here in the short term and not rush a quarterback decision in a year where the names of available quarterbacks aren’t that stellar.

But what do you think? Are the Steelers on the right track when it comes to this year’s free agency? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.