Oh, there were the talent-search excursions to the East-West Shrine Bowl and Senior Bowl. And there were a few meetings to determine some minor coaching changes.
But the real work for the Steelers begins in earnest Monday when the entire coaching staff convenes at their South Side facility to break down the offense and defense and decide who will be a part of their schemes in 2025 — and what those schemes might look like.
Coach Mike Tomlin will spend two days each on both sides of the ball, going over what improvements are needed for next season and which players — particularly free agents — will be retained or let go. And the Steelers have plenty of significant free agents, including quarterbacks Russell Wilson and Justin Fields and running back Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren.
Three other starters — linebacker Elandon Roberts, cornerback Donte Jackson and receiver Van Jefferson — are also unrestricted free agents.
Some of those decisions have likely already been made. For example, they are not expected to re-sign two of their starting offensive linemen — left tackle Dan Moore Jr. and guard James Daniels — allowing them to enter the free agent market on March 12.
Just as important, this week’s sessions will involve establishing an agenda for next week’s NFL combine in Indianapolis. That’s when the Steelers will start to narrow their focus on which players they would like to target in the April draft.
Of course, no decision is more significant than deciding which quarterback — Wilson or Fields — they want to retain in 2025. It is a split decision internally, kind of like it was in 2021 when the Steelers were deciding if they wanted to bring back Ben Roethlisberger for his 18th and final season, which they eventually did.
It’s a different decision at running back. Warren is a restricted free agent, which means the Steelers are likely to tender him a right-of-first-refusal offer that will cost them only $3.18 million in 2025. They could still re-sign Harris, who is an unrestricted free agent. Tomlin has long favored Harris, even though his career yards-per-carry average (3.9) is nearly a yard lower than Warren’s (4.8).
As for the coaching staff, Tomlin has made only two changes since the end of the season — bringing back Gerald Alexander as secondary coach to replace Grady Brown, whose contract was not renewed, and hiring former Pitt linebacker and former Dallas Cowboys assistant Scott McCurley to be inside linebackers coach, replacing Aaron Curry.
There could still be one other minor change, but the staff shakeup that might have been expected after the Steelers lost their final five games and had another one-and-done appearance in the postseason never materialized.
The offseason work begins in earnest this week.
Staffer recognized
Former Steelers trainer John Norwig has been selected by the Pro Football Hall of Fame for their annual Awards of Excellence program in the athletic trainers category.
Norwig, who retired after the 2022 season, will be feted June 25-26 in Canton, Ohio.
First Published: February 17, 2025, 5:38 p.m.
Updated: February 18, 2025, 7:57 p.m.
