2024 Steelers Season Recall: The offseason begins
Steel City Underground presents our 2024 Steelers Recall: a look back at Pittsburgh Steelers games and storylines from last season.
The beginning of the 2024 NFL offseason began eerily similar to how the 2025 season is unfolding. The rumors and speculation were all the wilder, and the Pittsburgh Steelers found themselves searching for similar answers following an early exit from the playoffs.
Let’s take a look back, roughly one year ago, to what we were seeing, hearing, and looking forward to as the new league year approached.
Buffalo Playoff Loss
Steelers Nation was left scrambling after a miraculous three-game win streak to finish the season saw the team fizzle in the snowy conditions in Buffalo, New York.
The Wild Card game, which was pushed back to a Monday 4:30 PM ET kickoff time due to blizzard conditions in Buffalo, was memorable if only for the fans who had to dig snow out of their seats at Highmark Stadium.
For the Steelers, the 31-17 loss left more questions than answers. One year prior, Pittsburgh missed the postseason entirely, so a return to the playoffs was a step in the right direction. The 2022 team had finished 9-8, so a 10-7 finish and playoff berth was welcome, but echoed a lot of the same “Tomlin winning seasons” negativity from a fanbase wanting more.
However, this wasn’t the squad to provide “more” in defeat. The Steelers’ starting lineup was a shell of their expected players from the beginning of the season. Third-string quarterback Mason Rudolph led the offense, while the defense was minus its most important player, T.J. Watt. The team had also been making a go of it without two of their top inside linebackers, who also called plays on D: Cole Holcomb and Kwon Alexander, each of whom was placed on IR in the second half of the season.
In their place, several backups played significant time on that side of the ball, including Markus Golden, MyKal Walker, Eric Rowe, and Myles Jack. This led to Buffalo having their way with a Steelers team that couldn’t contain their opponent’s offense while also struggling with turnovers when they had the ball.
Watt Loses DPOY
As confirmed in previous seasons, the NFL Honors show should be called a clown show, as many of the award winners appeared undeserving. The irony is, looking back to 2023, many felt that Baltimore Ravens QB Lamar Jackson didn’t deserve the MVP award over his peers. Now in 2024, Jackson had a better season than his MVP one and was a runner up.
The same hypocrisy was on display with the Defensive Player of the Year award, which was spoiled an hour before the announcement by Steelers LB T.J. Watt. Watt, who led the league in sacks and was a first-team All-Pro was the runner up to Browns DE Myles Garrett.
It’s more or less that Garrett’s statistics since beating the Steelers on November 19th, 2023 were unrecognizable, than Watt undeserving. In seven games, including one playoff appearance, Garrett had a single sack, a single pass deflection, and no fumbles forced or recovered. He had seven total QB hits, but those came in two lopsided games against the the Jaguars and Jets, without reaching the quarterback whatsoever in the other five.
It’s hard to imagine what the writers or voters saw in Garrett over Watt. The decision was one of several that tarnished the Honors as a legitimate awards show rather than a popularity contest. The league continues to explore ways to keep fans connected between the conference championships and Super Bowl, but has come up short. That has left some fans exploring other forms of entertainment during these non-game days. For instance, a popular diversion is trying out the Big Bass Bonanza demo on Slotcatalog.com, which offers a lighthearted break without detracting from the main excitement. This casual gaming option can add variety to the experience, provided it is enjoyed responsibly and in moderation.
Hiring an Offensive Coordinator
The Browns loss wasn’t only a turning point for Myles Garrett’s season either, as the Steelers front office made an unprecedented decision to relieve a coach midseason. The struggle to gain a first down and an opportunity to kick a winning field goal against Cleveland cost offensive coordinator Matt Canada his job.
In the interim, quarterback coach Mike Sullivan (a former NFL OC himself) and running backs coach Eddie Faulkner took the reigns as co-offensive coordinators. Going forward into 2024, however, both assistants would be retained but ultimately not promoted to Canada’s vacant position.
The Steelers wasted no time in finding a suitor, hiring recently fired Atlanta Falcons head coach Arthur Smith. Smith had previously served as the Tennessee Titans offensive coordinator before accepting a head coaching gig, but would now return to a similar role he found success in at Tennessee. The hope would be Smith could run an offense that would take pressure off of whomever the Steelers quarterback would be in 2024…
Starting Quarterback
The quarterback rumors started as quickly as the clock ticked zero in Buffalo, as Steelers fans pondered the future of the team.
The 2023 season started to deteriorate when Kenny Pickett was knocked out of a game in Week 13 against a two-win Arizona Cardinals team. In his place, backup Mitchell Trubisky struggled, as the Steeler stumbled to the two-win New England Patriots and then the Indianapolis Colts. Trubisky would be benched for 2018 third round draft pick, Mason Rudolph, who continued to hang around the team as a familiar face that was never given any full opportunities following a tumultuous 2019 season in which he played in 10 games.
Fast forward to 2023 and Rudolph sparked the Steelers to a major comeback, scoring over 30 points in consecutive games (the only two all season) and a three-game run that landed the team in the playoffs.
Rudolph was scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent in March, but the bigger rumors lurking around the team was that Kenny Pickett “quit” near the end of the season and was inactive because he was unwilling to sit behind Mason. Further complicating matters, the Steelers released Trubisky in February to avoid a substantial cap charge, while speculation of acquiring the recently released Denver Broncos QB Russell Wilson, or former first round pick and Chicago Bears QB Justin Fields, ramped up.
Offensive Line
Despite moving up to draft Broderick Jones in the first round, the Steelers offensive line still struggled throughout the season. Fans watched as Jones played out of position, covering the right tackle spot due to necessity, rather than taking (and upgrading) the left tackle position held by Dan Moore.
Low and bad snaps were also a major issue from center Mason Cole, who was also released in mid-February ahead of free agency. Center would be a major focal point of the team’s offseason efforts in addition to finding more help along the rest of the offensive line.
Secondary
Another glaring hole on the Steelers depth chart as free agency and the draft would loom in the background was their secondary. The cornerback room was soon to be barren, as 33-year-old CB Patrick Peterson carried a $9,775,000 salary cap hit for the 2024 season.
Part time starting CB Levi Wallace, slot corner Chandon Sullivan, and reserve/specialist James Pierre were all on expiring contracts as well, leaving second-year players Joey Porter Jr. and Corey Trice remaining as potential options: and Trice missed all of the 2023 season on IR.
The safety position was also a revolving door in 2023, as Minkah Fitzpatrick missed ample amounts of time, as did others, including Damontae Kazee and Keanu Neal. Trenton Thompson and Elijah Riley were called up from the practice squad, but also fell to injuries, leaving the team to scamper for street free agent and veteran Eric Rowe to pick up the slack.
Needless to say, defensive backs would be another point of emphasis for the Steelers as they prioritized their offseason needs.
Join us next week as we take a look at the start of free agency and the moves the Steelers made nearly a year ago to improve their roster and attempt to field a contender.
