The Pittsburgh Steelers' 2026 offseason continued its busy nature last week with the opening of the legal tampering period. The organization had several positions of need to fill and they wasted little time doing so. The team traded for Indianapolis Colts star wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr. to address their depth at the position. They also added Rico Dowdle at running back after it was announced Kenneth Gainwell would be heading to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. They also went out and signed cornerback Jamel Dean from Tampa Bay to fill the void left by the departure of James Pierre.
Jessie Alcheh / Associated Press
Steelers cornerback James Pierre defending Los Angeles Chargers wide receiver Keenan Allen in a game during the 2025 NFL season.
On Monday, insider Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette was on the 102.5 FM WDVE Morning Show in Pittsburgh and discussed some of the team's roster moves from last week. Dulac mentioned how the team went out and worked to get younger, as opposed to their previous approaches to free agency. He specifically mentioned the age of the players the organization targeted, while also discussing his approval of the signing of Dean.
"I like the signing of Jamel Dean," Dulac explained. "I think that's one of the things they've done, instead of signing a bunch of 31, 32-year-old guys, this time a lot of guys were 27 years old, 28 years old. And I thought that was kind of key as well."
Dean, a 29-year old, quickly filled the need left by the announcement that Pierre was off to the Minnesota Vikings. The team also signed a hometown player from Pittsburgh's Gateway High School and a former Penn State Nittany Lion in safety Jaquan Brisker. Brisker, another younger signing, will enter the 2026 season at just 27 years old following four seasons to start his career with the Chicago Bears.
Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune
Steelers' newly acquired safety Jaquan Brisker celebrating during his time with the Chicago Bears in a 2023 NFL game.
This new approach from Pittsburgh is a refreshing sight for sore eyes. With the team stuck in a playoff win drought nearing a decade, they have done an excellent job in acquiring younger talent so far this offseason. This is a shift in strategy that should be met with great optimism ahead of the 2026 season in the Steel City. They are doing this on both sides of the ball as well, adding the 28-year-old Pittman and 27-year-old Dowdle.
The team did a great job to bolster their secondary last week with the signings of Brisker and Dean as mentioned. Dean had two forced fumbles with three interceptions to go along with 38 solo tackles in his 2025 season in Tampa Bay. With the loss of Pierre, Dean will fit in great as a replacement for him in the Black and Gold in 2026.
Steelers Need To Continue A Change To Their Free Agency Approach
For the organization to finally get back to its winning standard and not just participating in the playoffs, they need to keep the same approach they have changed to in free agency moving forward. While the team may be done adding via free agency due to their draft capital with the 2026 NFL Draft next month, they have done a tremendous job of filing in holes on their roster thus far. The Pittman signing gives a big bodied running mate for wide receiver DK Metcalf, something Pittsburgh desperately lacked in the 2025 season. This is news that has many excited, and should excite Metcalf himself, as he had a down year by his standards in 2025.
Eric Thayer / Associated Press
Steelers' newly acquired wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr. catches a touchdown pass in an NFL game against the Los Angeles Rams.
With 12 overall picks in the draft in April, this could spell the end of free agent signings this month for Pittsburgh. However, assuming that most of these signings turn into great assets on the 2026 team, this is something the organization should continue to do moving forward. While the Steelers did lose some key pieces from their 2025 team, including Gainwell who was their 2025 Team MVP, they have done great work to bring in young and up-and-coming talent for 2026.
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