The highest-paid safety duo in the NFL is Cincinnati’s Jessie Bates (No. 6) and Vonn Bell (No. 13) when it comes to their 2022 salary cap hits. Combined, they’ll cost just over $20 million for the Bengals this season, according to overthecap.com.
Of the five most expensive safeties in the league, not one has a running mate who’s set to make more than $3 million this year. Most are paired up with veterans on their last legs, journeymen or cheap, young players. And soon, some of those teams will add draft picks who can come in on affordable rookie deals to compete for a job.
Those are the avenues for the Steelers to explore as they try to establish a new Robin to Minkah Fitzpatrick’s Batman in the back end of their secondary. Terrell Edmunds is gone, and maybe he’s coming back, but at least for now there’s a wide-open hole at strong safety that even general manager Kevin Colbert uncharacteristically and candidly referred to as the only spot on the roster where the Steelers don’t have a starter-caliber player.
Since then, the Steelers brought back Karl Joseph, a veteran journeyman. But projecting him as a first-teamer would be a leap of faith, considering he barely made it off the practice squad last season and found himself without a team through the first two weeks of free agency.
Joseph is just as likely to be offseason roster fodder as he is a rejuvenation of the player who was a first-round pick of the Raiders in 2016 out of West Virginia. Tre Norwood showed flashes as a rookie, especially for a seventh-rounder, but his body type may limit him to free safety and slot cornerback. Miles Killebrew re-signed this offseason, but like Jordan Dangerfield before him, he’s on the roster for special teams as opposed to defense. Point being, uncertainty looms in the absence of Edmunds, who still would be here if the Steelers hadn’t declined his fifth-year option this time a year ago.
One could argue that was the wrong move, given that Edmunds increased his production in several areas (tackles jumped from 68 to 89, tackles for loss from 1 to 8) and decreased his lapses in coverage (yards per catch, yards per target and passer rating all down, per Pro Football Reference’s advanced stats). He would’ve been guaranteed a $6.75 million salary in his fifth season on that option year, putting him at No. 17 among all safeties, perhaps giving the Steelers some peace of mind they don't otherwise have as the draft approaches.
It’s likely a matter of when, not if, Fitzpatrick receives a new deal that may make him the richest player in the league at his position. He’s entering a contract year and that’s probably just the cost of doing business to retain a two-time, first-team All-Pro who wasn’t as impactful last season but nonetheless gives the Steelers the kind of playmaking safety they’ve lacked since Troy Polamalu. Fitzpatrick does his best work in the deepest part of the field, too, which allows an aggressive defense in front of him to attack opposing quarterbacks.
“Minkah has a level of football intellect [that] there’s a lot more meat on that bone than under normal circumstances,” Mike Tomlin said on a podcast last offseason with Rams coach Sean McVay. “We’re in the process right now, this summer, of talking about dealing with his alignment depth based on the nature of the offenses. RPOs versus play-action and formational structure and things of that nature — conversations, quite honestly, that you cannot have with most guys. He’s able to digest things and make it turn up on the field that other guys can’t.”
That doesn't sound like someone the Steelers will let get away, no matter the cost. So, the discussion becomes what to do with the “other” safety. Beyond Edmunds, whose best quality at this point figures to be familiarity, Tyrann Mathieu is the best free agent who remains available. Turning 30 next month, Mathieu was an All-Pro or Pro Bowler the past three seasons with the Chiefs, so he’ll only stay unemployed as long as he wants to.
How much are the Steelers willing to pay, and thus spend overall, at safety? Drafting and plugging in a rookie who can play alongside Fitzpatrick — and learn from his football IQ — for at least four years on a rookie deal would be an ideal match. Notre Dame’s long, opportunistic safety Kyle Hamilton is the consensus No. 1 in this class, so unless a slower-than-expected 40-yard dash time harpoons his stock, the Steelers won’t have a slam-dunk safety to choose from at No. 20 overall.
They could go that route anyway, based on the reasoning above, but as the offseason kicks into high gear, it’s possibly the most pressing question for a defense that should be just a piece or two away from returning to form. The Steelers must be tempted to make that piece a hard-hitting, run-stuffing safety willing to get his hands dirty so Fitzpatrick can play center field and clean up the rest.
HOW THEY WERE BUILT
Minkah Fitzpatrick
Age: 25
Acquired: 2019 trade
Contract status: Signed through 2022
Tre Norwood
Age: 23
Acquired: 2021 draft, 7th round
Contract status: Signed through 2024
Miles Killebrew
Age: 28
Acquired: 2021 free agency
Contract status: Signed through 2023
Karl Joseph
Age: 28
Acquired: 2022 free agency
Contract status: Signed through 2022
Donovan Stiner
Age: 23
Acquired: 2021 UDFA
Contract status: Signed through 2023 (ERFA)
TOP FIVE S PROSPECTS
Kyle Hamilton, Notre Dame, 6-4, 220, Jr.
Dax Hill, Michigan, 6-0, 191, Jr.
Lewis Cine, Georgia, 6-2, 199 Jr.
Jaquan Brisker, Penn State, 6-1, 201, RSSr.
Jalen Pitre, Baylor, 5-11, 198, RSSr.
— Compiled from several draft services
Brian Batko: bbatko@post-gazette.com and Twitter @BrianBatko.
First Published: April 16, 2022, 10:00 a.m.
