The Pittsburgh Steelers have massively retooled the roster this offseason, but these former players are somehow still free agents, which is hard to believe.
To say that the Pittsburgh Steelers roster has undergone an overhaul this offseason would be an understatement. Between free agency and the draft, it's looking like Mike Tomlin might have 10 new starters overall in the 2023 season from the players who were in those roles a season ago.
By my estimation, that's for the better overall. The Steelers' ceiling appeared limited in the 2022 campaign and it feels less so now with some of the additions they've made, such as Allen Robinson, Broderick Jones, Patrick Peterson, and many others. It's going to be a new-look group. But while that's been happening, some familiar faces have yet to find a home.
Deep into free agency and the offseason to this point, it's frankly stunning that these three former Steelers players are still available on the open market ahead of the 2023 season.
Steelers: 3 former players who are shockingly still free agents
3. Benny Snell Jr., RB
There haven't been many moments since Pittsburgh selected running back Benny Snell Jr. in the fourth round of the 2019 draft wherein the former Kentucky star has been able to secure a consistent role. His first two seasons with the Steelers were when he got the most work, carrying the ball 108 and 111 times and starting a combined five games over those seasons.
Over the last two years, though, Snell saw his role decrease with the arrival of Najee Harris, carrying the ball just a combined 56 times with four total receptions despite playing in all 34 games over the past two years.
Even with that erratic role, though, Snell has been solid, rushing for 982 yards and seven touchdowns while also hauling in 17 of 24 targets in the passing game for 114 yards as well.
It's certainly unlikely that Snell will ever be a star in the NFL, but as far as reliable and solid depth pieces go, you find numerous teams that need to fill that role in every season and that's a role that Snell could definitely fill.
Perhaps the fact that the former fourth-rounder was never a terrific pass-blocker with the Steelers is a factor in why he's not been signed in free agency this offseason, but for a player who we've seen perform at a solid level in the past few years, despite limited opportunities, it's surprising that another opportunity on a new team hasn't presented itself.
2. Chris Wormley, DL
An early third-round pick in 2017 by the rival Baltimore Ravens, Chris Wormley first came to the Steelers in the 2020 season and has spent the last three years in Pittsburgh.
Outside of his 7.0-sack season in 2021, though, we haven't seen Wormley bring much in the way of pass rush as he's only accrued 1.5 sacks combined in 2020 and 2022 over 26 games. However, that doesn't mean he's been invaluable.
Wormley graded out as an above-average run defender a season ago and has for much of his career. Even playing under 400 snaps on the year, he managed 29 combined tackles along with three tackles for loss on the year as well. He's a run-stuffer who has played that role extremely well.
Unfortunately for the veteran defensive lineman, he suffered a knee injury at the end of last season which was eventually revealed to be a torn ACL that needed to be repaired. But given that he's undergone that surgery and is still only 29 years old, you'd think that there would be some landing spot for him in free agency, especially on a cheap multi-year deal.
In all likelihood, the aforementioned ACL tear and subsequent surgery in December 2022 are almost surely the reason that Wormley hasn't found a new team yet as there's no guarantee he'll play at all this year and, if he does, it'll be late in the year and he could be signed by a team then. Having said that, if a team had a need for a run-stuffer on the D-line, landing him on a cheap deal to hopefully have in later in the season would make sense, which is why it's still somewhat surprising that he's not yet been signed.
1. Myles Jack, LB
The Steelers ended up taking a flier on Myles Jack after the linebacker spent his first six NFL seasons in Jacksonville and he put up some solid numbers. For the third straight season, he finished with more than 104 tackles and added three tackles for loss and a quarterback hit to his totals as well.
When you look at the grading metrics from PFF and otherwise, though, Jack hasn't ever fully lived up to his billing and been a great all-around linebacker. He graded out poorly in the 2022 season for Pittsburgh basically across the board and that's a big reason why the front office was aggressive in free agency and otherwise trying to upgrade that position group.
Having said that, the thing about Jack is that he's still just 27 years old, has flashed high-level play just inconsistently, and is a former high-second-round pick who was once a truly athletic freak. When you have a player who was drafted that highly and has shown some ability, it's almost always the case on the right side of 30 years old that teams will give him another chance to realize his potential.
And yet, that hasn't happened with Jack this offseason. He remains unsigned in free agency for whatever reason. The Steelers don't necessarily need to consider bringing him back, but some team who is need of talent will surely pick him up before Week 1. The pedigree in terms of age, tools and draft position are too much for that to not end up being the case.
