Pittsburgh Steelers

Pittsburgh is squeezed nearly to the wall with just $5.2M in cap room ranked 31st and is projected $900K over the cap next season, making every roster decision a balancing act.

31 contracts expiring

Madden Tools Analysis

Two starting spots have weak depth behind the starter.

Seven picks this cycle including five in the first five rounds give Pittsburgh real ammunition to attack its offensive line holes through the draft, even if the cap leaves free agency largely off the table.

• Acquired: Round 5 from Cowboys, this draft
• Acquired: Round 7 from Dolphins, this draft
• Traded away: Round 6 to Cowboys, this draft
• Traded away: Round 5 to Dolphins, this draft

The roster's top strength is a pass-rush and secondary combination that few teams can match, while the right side of the offensive line is the clearest and most damaging weakness on the entire depth chart.

• RGhigh

  The starting right guard, Gennings Dunker, ranks 31st among starters and the position group ranks 23rd in depth, making right guard the most urgent upgrade on the roster.

• RThigh

  Jack Driscoll starts at right tackle and ranks dead last among all starting right tackles, a dire situation compounded by thin backup options.

• LTmedium

  Max Iheanachor starts at left tackle and ranks 24th among starters, though the depth chart is actually strong, giving the team a path to improvement from within.

• MIKElow

  Patrick Queen is a serviceable 80-overall starter at MIKE, but the position ranks 21st among starters and depth is limited behind him.

• WILLlow

  Payton Wilson starts at WILL and ranks 20th among starters, though depth at linebacker is solid enough to manage the position in the short term.

• 66Mason RudolphQBMason Rudolph sits third on the quarterback depth chart behind Rodgers and Allar, and releasing him frees $3.0M against only $1.6M in dead money, a clean saving for a team with just $5.2M in cap room.Frees $3.0M · $1.6M dead
• 79Aaron RodgersQBAaron Rodgers is the starter, but releasing him would free $22.0M against a negligible $500K in dead money, which would be the single largest cap move available and could reshape the entire financial picture.Frees $22.0M · $500.0K dead
• 73Malik HarrisonMIKEMalik Harrison backs up Patrick Queen at MIKE and sits third on the SAM chart, a redundant role that can be freed for $4.8M at a cost of only $2.0M in dead money.Frees $4.8M · $2.0M dead
• 54Ryan McCollumCRyan McCollum sits third at center behind Zach Frazier and Greg Crippen and offers a 54 overall, making his $1.1M salary easy to clear with just $180K in dead money.Frees $1.1M · $180.0K dead
• 70Ben SkowronekWRBen Skowronek sits behind DK Metcalf, Michael Pittman, and Germie Bernard at receiver and his 70 overall barely justifies $2.3M when the team is nearly at the cap floor, with only $540K in dead money.Frees $2.3M · $540.0K dead

Pittsburgh hands you a defense that is genuinely elite at its peak positions, with Cam Heyward, T.J. Watt, Jalen Ramsey, and Alex Highsmith forming a fearsome unit. The problem is that Heyward and Watt are entering the late stages of their careers and the window at full strength is short. On offense, the situation is harder to spin positively: Aaron Rodgers starts at quarterback but is deep into the twilight of his career, and the offensive line around him is broken at right guard and right tackle, ranking at or near the bottom of the league at both spots. DK Metcalf, Michael Pittman, Rico Dowdle, and Jaylen Warren give the skill positions genuine punch, but those weapons are only as useful as the protection in front of them. The cap picture is equally uncomfortable, with just $5.2M in room this season, $8.6M in dead money, and a projected $900K over the cap next season, severely limiting what the front office can add. The saving grace is a rollover of $16.9M ranked 8th and three first-round picks in the upcoming draft cycle, which gives the rebuild real resources if managed well.

The Steelers were founded on July 8, 1933, by Art Rooney, who paid a $2,500 NFL franchise fee and named the team the Pittsburgh Pirates after the city's baseball club. For nearly four decades the franchise was among the NFL's most futile, posting just one playoff appearance (a 1947 loss to Philadelphia) through 1971. The name changed to "Steelers" in 1940 to honor the region's steel industry; the team briefly merged with Philadelphia (the 1943 "Steagles") and the Chicago Cardinals (1944's winless "Card-Pitt") during World War II player shortages. The turning point came when Chuck Noll was hired in 1969. Through a remarkable run of drafts, Noll assembled a dynasty: the "Immaculate Reception", Franco Harris's miraculous catch in a December 23, 1972 playoff win over Oakland, gave the franchise its first-ever postseason victory and launched a golden era. Behind the "Steel Curtain" defense, the Steelers won four Super Bowls in six years (IX, X, XIII, XIV), becoming the first team to win four titles and the only one to win back-to-back Super Bowls twice. After a fallow 1980s, Bill Cowher (hired 1992) returned the team to contention, reaching Super Bowl XXX after the 1995 season. The Steelers won their fifth title in Super Bowl XL (February 2006) as a No. 6 seed, the first sixth seed to win a Super Bowl. Mike Tomlin took over in 2007 and won Super Bowl XLIII (February 2009), the franchise's sixth championship, making Pittsburgh the first team to six Super Bowl wins. Tomlin never had a losing season in 19 years but did not win a playoff game after the 2016 season; he stepped down in January 2026, and Pittsburgh native Mike McCarthy was hired as the franchise's 17th head coach.