Pittsburgh Steelers Roster
- AFC North
- Stadium
- Acrisure Stadium
- Head Coach
- Mike Tomlin
- Offensive Coordinator
- Arthur Smith
- Defensive Coordinator
- Teryl Austin
- Special Teams Coach
- Danny Smith
- Defensive Scheme
- 3-4
The Pittsburgh Steelers selected offensive tackle Troy Fautanu with the 20th overall selection of the NFL draft. Fautanu is six feet four inches tall and has long arms, which gives him good balance in pass protection. The 23-year-old started 31 games for Washington, with 29 of them at left tackle and two at left guard. Russel Wilson will get some much-needed blindside protection with this selection. Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren will also benefit from having Fautanu leading the way for them.
The Pittsburgh Steelers did a simple restructure of the salary of pass-rusher Alex Highsmith's contract on Wednesday to create more than $7 million in salary cap space, according to a source. The Steelers will convert a portion of Highsmith's base salary in 2024 into a signing bonus. The 26-year-old former third-round pick in 2020 out of Charlotte has put up 21.5 sacks in the last two years and had 57 tackles (34 solo), seven sacks, eight tackles for loss, 18 QB hits, two interceptions (one returned for a touchdown) and two forced fumbles in 17 regular-season starts in 2023 in his fourth year in the league. Along with All-Pro pass-rusher T.J. Watt, Highsmith is a key member of the Steelers' defense moving forward.
The Pittsburgh Steelers aren't expected to pick up quarterback Justin Fields' $25 million fifth-year option, according to league sources. The Steelers acquired Fields from the Chicago Bears last month for a conditional 2025 sixth-round pick. Fields and Russell Wilson will now both be entering the last year of their contracts in 2024. Wilson is fully expected to open the 2024 campaign as the starter under center for Pittsburgh, but if he falters, Fields will get a shot to prove that he belongs with the Steelers beyond this season. The 25-year-old showed some improvement late last year with Chicago, but it wasn't enough to keep him as the franchise signal-caller in the eyes of Bears brass. Fields' fantasy stock is obviously way down entering next season, but he could become a high-upside waiver-wire pickup if Wilson is benched.
Free-agent kicker Matthew Wright signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers, the team announced on X on Wednesday. Wright went undrafted after his final season at UCF in 2018 and has spent time with eight NFL organizations, including three stints with the Steelers. In 20 NFL games, the 28-year-old has connected on 40 of his 47 field goal attempts and 35 of his 37 extra point tries. In all likelihood, veteran kicker Chris Boswell, who has been with Pittsburgh since 2015, will remain the starter. If Wright surprisingly wins the kicking job this offseason, he could have streaming viability in 2024 fantasy football.
The Athletic's Bruce Feldman has a hunch that the Pittsburgh Steelers grab Penn State offensive tackle Olu Fashanu with the 20th overall pick in the first round of this year's NFL draft over JC Latham, Amarius Mims and Tyler Guyton. If they don't go with Fashanu, Oregon strongman center Jackson Powers-Johnson could be the pick. Fashanu was inconsistent in his final year with the Nittany Lions, but he has a lot of potential at 6-foot-6 and 312 pounds. Feldman thinks the 21-year-old offensive lineman is a good bet to continue to polish his game at the next level because of his intelligence. "This is a big, great-looking dude. He comes off the ball well and is good with his hands, but there are times you'd expect him to finish better," one coach said.