Steelers' Missing Out As Multiple Inside Linebackers Are Now Off The Market On Day 1

The Pittsburgh Steelers desperately need to sign an inside linebacker. They currently only have two on their roster with Myles Jack, and one of last year's seventh round picks, Mark Robinson. It's already a foregone conclusion that Devin Bush will be moving onto another team. Joining him could be Robert Spillane who even though he was listed as a back up spent a lot of time on the field. Marcus Allen who was a converted safety from Penn State is also a free agent. But he's spent the majority of his career as a special teamer only. 

Luckily for the Steelers there is a very deep free agent class at inside linebacker. The only issue is that two of the Steelers potential top choices have already agreed to terms with a new team. Buffalo free agent Tremaine Edmunds, and Philadelphia free agent TJ Edwards have both agreed to contracts with the Chicago Bears. 

Edmunds was believed to be a top target of the Steelers because of the connection between his family and the Steelers. His brother Terrell was of course a first round selection of Pittsburgh. But he's also a free agent for a second consecutive season after coming back on a one year deal in 2022. Terrell at one time this offseason said he'd take a little bit less to come back if they used it to sign his brother. Pittsburgh also at one point had their oldest brother Trey for multiple seasons as a reserve running/full back. 

The deal for Edmunds was one that the Steelers wouldn't of been able to afford without lots of salary cap maneuvering. According to NFL Network's Ian Rapport the deal for Edmunds will be 4 years at 72 million. And 50 million of that will be guaranteed. 

The deal for Edwards comes in at a much more reasonable three years 19.5 million. Considering the Steelers signed Jack last offseason for two years 16 million, they could've certainly afforded Edwards. 

Another name that had been connected to Pittsburgh was Germaine Pratt of the Cincinnati Bengals. After being on the market for a few hours the Bengals and Pratt agreed to a new three year contract. 

Even with these three off the market Pittsburgh still has some options remaining. Lavonte David and Bobby Wagner are likely out of the Steelers price range, but they top the list of remaining inside linebacker free agents. The Steelers were reportedly interested in Wagner last offseason. 

Steelers Remaining Options

The Philadelphia Eagles let Kyzir White test free agency after signing him to a one year contract last offseason. White came over to the Eagles after spending four seasons with the Chargers. In 8 games as a starter for the Eagles White compiled 110 tackles and 1.5 sacks. He played in all 17 regular season games for the Eagles. 

From there Cowboys' former first round pick Leight Vander Esch, who we hinted could be a top choice of the Steelers yesterday, is still available. Vander Esch has had an up and down career to this point, but he's still a viable option for Pittsburgh beside Jack. His biggest issue is that he's struggled off and on with injures. Last season he also had a career high missed tackle percentage. 

Azeez Al-Shaair, and Drue Tranquill round out the best of the rest. It's obviously still very early in the free agent process. But as of right now the Steelers still have a lot of work to do. First things first they need to create some more cap space. The 10.6 million they have available right now isn't going to be enough. From there they need to start filling a few holes to take some pressure off of the draft. (Editors note -- Steelers just signed Patrick Peterson, they now have less money available.)

Which one of these remaining free agents would you like the Steelers to sign? 

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