Pittsburgh Steelers

With $19.4M in current room and a next-year cap projected at just $480K, Pittsburgh has almost no financial runway unless it acts decisively on its most expensive cut candidates.

20 contracts expiring

Madden Tools Analysis

Six starting spots have weak depth behind the starter.

Seven picks this cycle including five in the first five rounds and a three-year total of 21 picks give Pittsburgh meaningful resources to reshape a roster that needs upgrades at multiple positions.

• 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

Pittsburgh's top strength is an elite defensive front and secondary built around three players rated 92 or higher, while the offensive line, particularly right guard where the starter ranks 31st in the league, is the clearest weakness on the roster.

• LThigh

  Troy Fautanu starts at left tackle but ranks 27th among starters and the depth behind him is thin, making this the most urgent upgrade on the roster.

• RGhigh

  Gennings Dunker opens at right guard as a 72 overall starter ranked 31st at the position, representing the weakest individual starting spot on the offensive line.

• WRmedium

  DK Metcalf and Michael Pittman give Pittsburgh a functional top two, but the overall receiver room ranks 24th among starters and needs a true difference-maker added.

• MIKElow

  Patrick Queen starts at middle linebacker but ranks 23rd at the position, and the depth behind him is among the thinnest in the league at 26th overall.

• QBlow

  Aaron Rodgers starts but is deep in the twilight of his career, and while the depth chart ranks 11th leaguewide, the long-term answer at the position remains unresolved.

• RTlow

  Max Iheanachor holds the right tackle spot at 75 overall, ranking 21st among starters, and Dylan Cook behind him at 65 overall offers minimal security.

• TElow

  Pat Freiermuth leads a tight end room that ranks 3rd in the league in depth, so while the starter rates 20th, this position is a true roster strength from top to bottom.

• 67Mason RudolphQBMason Rudolph sits third on the depth chart behind Rodgers and Allar, and releasing him frees $3.0M against only $1.6M in dead money, making him a straightforward roster trim.Frees $3.0M · $1.6M dead
• 79Aaron RodgersQBAaron Rodgers carries a massive $22.0M savings on a release with just $500K in dead money, and while he starts now, his position entering the twilight of his career makes succession planning urgent and financially, cutting him is the most impactful single move available.Frees $22.0M · $500.0K dead
• 54Ryan McCollumCRyan McCollum sits second on the center depth chart at 54 overall behind the superior Zach Frazier, and releasing him clears $1.1M against a negligible $180K dead cap charge.Frees $1.1M · $180.0K dead
• 70Ben SkowronekWRBen Skowronek is the fourth receiver on the depth chart at 70 overall, and cutting him recovers $2.3M with only $540K in dead money, freeing cap space that is badly needed elsewhere.Frees $2.3M · $540.0K dead
• 67Robert TonyanTERobert Tonyan is the third tight end at 67 overall behind Freiermuth and Darnell Washington, and releasing him is a clean cut that frees $1.1M with zero dead money.Frees $1.1M · $0 dead

Pittsburgh arrives at a pivotal crossroads, carrying one of the league's premier defenses headlined by T.J. Watt and a 95-overall Cam Heyward who is deep into the twilight of his career. The defense can win games in the short term, but the offense is the bottleneck: two offensive line starting spots rank near the bottom of the league, Aaron Rodgers is behind center in the final stage of his career with Drew Allar as the unproven 69-overall backup, and the receiver corps lacks a true top-end weapon despite the presence of DK Metcalf and Michael Pittman. Cap flexibility is constrained, with only $19.4M in current room and a next-year projection of just $480K, limiting the team's ability to buy quick fixes. The young core is thin on development talent, but Zach Frazier at center, Derrick Harmon at defensive tackle, and Nick Herbig and Jack Sawyer at edge provide building blocks for the next phase. Managing the transition from a veteran-led window to a younger identity, while keeping the defense competitive, is the defining challenge facing this franchise.

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.