The Pittsburgh Steelers lost quite a few players to free agency after the 2024 season, and there have been mixed results. On one hand, Donte Jackson has been one of the best cornerbacks in the NFL with the Los Angeles Chargers. He has not been much of a big play guy like when he was in Pittsburgh, but he has done a great job of shutting opposing receivers down. Meanwhile, the quarterbacks that Pittsburgh lost have all been benched at some point, even though Justin Fields was brought back due to an injury to his backup.
Karl Roser / Pittsburgh Steelers
Former Steelers quarterback Justin Fields (#2) runs with the football during a regular season football matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, PA.
Speaking of Fields, the Steelers got an update on him that helps them out a lot. SteelerNation.com on X spoke with Nick Korte of OverTheCap about Fields, and he gave some confirmation about the compensatory pick status about their former six-game starter.
Nick, do you have an update on the Steelers comp situation with Fields? Has he hit the snap count threshold yet?
— SteelerNation (@steelernation) November 14, 2025
Korte responded with some great news.
Should be a solid 4th rounder now.
— Nick Korte (@nickkorte) November 14, 2025
Despite all the criticisms and concerns about Fields' play with the New York Jets, he has still played enough snaps to where the compensatory pick that the Steelers received from losing him will drop no further than the fourth-round pick that it was originally projected to be. The odds of it going up to a third-rounder seem highly unlikely due to the lack of wins, but overall, Pittsburgh won't complain about that.
Karl Roser / Pittsburgh Steelers
Steelers General Manager Omar Khan picks up the phone in the team's war room during the 2023 NFL Draft weekend.
General Manager Omar Khan was originally able to acquire Fields in exchange for a conditional pick that wound up being a sixth-rounder. The fact that he turned a pick in the middle of that round into a late fourth is incredible. It also helps when you look at the other players that the Steelers are going to get compensated for. Overall, it was a great showing by Khan and the Steelers.
The big one for the Steelers is letting go of Dan Moore Jr., who never seemed to be a fit in Pittsburgh, and it showed with how Khan used back-to-back first-round picks in an attempt to replace him specifically. He has not done well with the Tennessee Titans at all, but that monster deal he signed is giving Pittsburgh yet another Top 100 pick. Once it becomes finalized, Pittsburgh will have five picks in the first three rounds.
Steelers Will Need All Their Draft Capital To Replace Aging Roster
Also in the 2025 offseason, the Steelers made many moves to make the roster significantly older, with the main ones being 41-year-old Aaron Rodgers and trading away a 28-year-old safety for a package that included 30-year-old defensive back Jalen Ramsey. They are built to try and win now in 2025.
Jordan Schofield / SteelerNation (X: @JSKO_PHOTO)
Aaron Rodgers and Jalen Ramsey practicing in training camp in 2025 at Latrobe, PA.
The cornerback room could easily be gutted. Hopefully, the addition of Asante Samuel Jr. can help out there for the long-term, but we have yet to see him play a game yet in black and gold. Of course, the quarterback room will need to be revitalized with more high-upside youth that could be potentially molded into a future franchise player.
There are plenty of examples of other aging players that will need to be replaced, but that's the good thing about having 12 total picks at the Steelers' disposal. They can either patch up multiple holes at once, or use that capital to trade up and make sure they land a player they believe can be elite. The future is not now yet, but it's right around the corner.
What do you think about the Steelers' compensatory pick situation now that Fields has hit the snap threshold to give Pittsburgh a fourth-round pick? Let us know in the comments or on X at @Steelers_ChrisB.
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