The Pittsburgh Steelers are not tanking for Arch Manning.
Mike Tomlin is desperate for a return to the big game since losing to Aaron Rodgers‘ Green Bay Packers at Super Bowl XLV in 2011.
Tomlin is the longest-serving head coach in the NFL and has never posted a losing record since taking over in 2008.
His job is as safe as they come at this level but despite consistently making the playoffs, he has not enjoyed a postseason win since 2016.
With Russell Wilson at the helm, 2024 came to an abrupt end with a 28-14 defeat to the Baltimore Ravens as a formidable defense failed to bail out a tepid line-up on the opposite side of the ball.
That is why the man who became the youngest coach ever to win a Super Bowl at 36 in 2009 — a record since taken by Sean McVay — is overseeing a massive offseason splurge.
Wilson and backup Justin Fields are gone after one-year trials, as is temperamental wide receiver George Pickens.
Pittsburgh gave up a second-round pick to bring in Seattle Seahawks brute DK Metcalf and give the WR room an overhaul.
The 6ft 4in, 229lb pass-catcher was immediately tied down on a four-year, $132 million contract.
Donald Parham Jr. was brought in to provide support for No. 1 tight end Pat Freiermuth but suffered a season-ending injury in OTAs.
That has led to reports that Miami Dolphins tight end Jonnu Smith, who carries a $4.6 million cap hit for 2025, is in Tomlin’s sights.
The defense has also undergone a makeover with linebacker Malik Harrison costing $10 million over two years and cornerback Darius Slay inking a one-year contract worth $10 million.
GettyTomlin’s first ring was secured with a superstar defense[/caption] GettyRodgers would love to add another Super Bowl to the one he won in 2011[/caption]By far the biggest expenditure will be securing superstar pass-rusher TJ Watt’s long-term future.
Myles Garrett recently set the market with a four-year, $160 million contract and by splashing out on Metcalf, the Steelers may have made a rod for their own back.
“DK Metcalf — when they give him a five-year, $130 million contract, and he’s never played for the team before — that’s going to embolden [T.J. Watt], who’s been a loyal servant since 2017, to say, ‘If you’re going to give him market value — and he’s a stranger to the Steelers — I want market value too,'” Mike Florio said on NBC’s Pro Football Talk.
“If DK Metcalf can get that kind of contract with no history of loyal service to the black and gold, T.J. Watt has every right to expect a deal that puts him past Garrett as the highest-paid defensive player in the league.”
Watt missed OTAs as he seeks to extend his deal, which runs out at the end of the season, but the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported on Monday that bosses are confident of getting a new contract over the line.
Watt is entering the last year of his four-year, $112 million deal, and hoping for a new one ahead of the season.
Despite having a down year statistically be his standards, the 30-year-old is likely to ask for a two or three year extension worth $40 million per year.
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Should he be confirmed, that leaves one key piece of this very expensive jigsaw left to sign.
Rodgers is believed to have a one-year deal worth around $30 million on the table.
That has been the case for weeks, but the veteran quarterback has yet to provide an update beyond revealing to Pat McAfee that ‘personal issues’ lay behind the delay.
Tomlin is now in the nightmare situation of not knowing who will throw the ball to Metcalf with OTAs already behind him.
If Rodgers is not through the door before mandatory minicamp on June 10, alarm bells will ring.
Should the holdout extend to the start of training camp on July 26, it could become a full-on crisis.
Brian Batko, Steelers beat writer for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, exclusively told talkSPORT that no specific time has been given for when Rodgers must report to the team.
“Training camp certainly would be kind of the absolute finish line for when you need to start installing this stuff and going through padded practices,” Batko said.
As it stands, sixth-round rookie Will Howard, ex-Miami Dolphins backup Skylar Thompson and Mason Rudolph, who has already flopped once at the Steelers before failing to find a home with the Tennessee Titans, could be the foundational piece of the house that Tomlin built at a cost of $345 million.
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