Pittsburgh

Steelers

The Chargers drafted Williams with the No. 7 overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft. He spent his first seven seasons with the team before being released during the 2024 offseason. He had torn an ACL six months earlier, in September 2023. Williams spent the 2024 season playing for the Jets and later the Steelers, before ultimately finding his way back to the Chargers this offseason. He retires having caught 330-of-524 targets for 5,104 yards and 32 touchdowns. Williams was known as one of the NFL’s premier jump-ball wide receivers in his prime.

Heyward discussed the Steelers’ defense and swapping Minkah Fitzpatrick out for Ramsey. Though losing a playmaking defensive back in Fitzpatrick hurts, Heyward is confident in Ramsey’s versatility. He said, “Jalen is a ball-hawking DB that can play corner. He can play slot. He can play safety.” It is still unclear where on the field Ramsey will start, but Heyward believes Ramsey can offer value at any spot on the field. The versatility may come in handy for a secondary turning over from an important piece in Fitzpatrick.

“The Steelers’ backfield is full with rookie Kaleb Johnson and offseason signing Kenneth Gainwell joining Jaylen Warren. It remains to be seen if OC Arthur Smith will lobby for the hybrid RB/WR to remain on the roster as a Swiss Army knife,” DeFabo continues. Patterson only had 32 carries for 135 yards last year, but it would be a little surprising for the Steelers to cut bait with one of the greatest kickoff returners in NFL history. Entering his age-34 season, Patterson will need to keep impressing in camp to retain his spot on the roster.

Pelissero recently reported that the Steelers do not plan to trade Watt, and Watt’s record-setting goals are well known, so the most recent report makes sense. The team will do its best to ensure team-friendly outs exist later in the deal, but for now, Watt appears to be on track for a hefty payday sometime before September 7. Pelissero states succinctly, Watt’s expected extension “is going to be north of Myles Garrett—it is going to be upwards of $40 million per year.”

Khan was promoted to his current post in 2022. His successful draft picks include WR George Pickens, CB Joey Porter Jr., DT Keanu Benton, LB Nick Herbig and C Zach Frazier. Khan acquired veterans WR DK Metcalf, TE Jonnu Smith and CB Jalen Ramsey via trade this offseason. It’s hard to completely separate what Khan has done from the fact that ownership has wanted a consistent winner, but this does feel like a gesture solidifying that Khan will be in charge of finding the next Steelers quarterback of the future after Aaron Rodgers.

Rodgers did not sign with the Steelers until late in the offseason, leaving him little time to build chemistry with the team’s receivers through offseason workouts. However, Rodgers posted a photo on social media with WRs DK Metcalf, Calvin Austin, Roman Wilson, Scotty Miller, and Ben Skowronek and TE Pat Freiermuth. He had invited offensive skill players to work out with him and these six have taken up the offer thus far. Metcalf and Freiermuth are likely to be two of the top options in the Steelers offense, with Austin and Wilson mixing in behind. Newly acquired Jonnu Smith is not there, though he just joined the team this week. Rodgers is headed for a final season in Pittsburgh and is looking to build further rapport with his pass-catchers for one last hurrah.

“This isn’t going to be as easy as the last contract with T.J., where he was in his prime ... they saw a little bit of a decline last year,” Dulac believes. Ja’Marr Chase currently holds the record in average per year at $40.25 million for a non-quarterback, though Myles Garrett’s $88.8 million in guarantees dwarfs it. It’s unclear which dollar figure Watt is coming after, but what is clear is that this could drag on well into training camp and perhaps, as Dulac suggests, right up to the beginning of the regular season. With Trey Hendrickson and Micah Parsons also vying to be in the highest-paid non-quarterback space, we have plenty of contract drama ahead of us on the edge during training camp and the preseason.

Kaboly said Boyd is holding out for a deal that would pay him more than the veteran minimum, and believes several teams are lowballing him ahead of training camp. Boyd, entering his age-31 season, has said he would be interested in joining the wideout-needy Steelers. He would likely profile as the team’s WR3 behind DK Metcalf and Calvin Austin. Boyd in 2024 had 39 catches for 390 yards over 16 games with the Titans — his lowest totals since 2017.

DeFabo suggested Rodgers’ preference for a quarterback-centric, pass-first offense will clash with Smith’s system, one of the run-heaviest in the NFL over the past five seasons. There could be adjustments made to Smith’s offense that could make it more balanced in 2025. “It will be interesting to see how it all comes together in training camp,” DeFabo said. This is the latest sign that the Steelers might not be as stubbornly run-heavy as many believe they’ll be. Smith said in early June that that team did not acquire DK Metcalf and Rodgers “to go run the wishbone” in 2025. “Every year will be different,” Smith said. “You evolve with who you have personnel-wise, and strategically there are things you want to evolve to. ... I’ve had a lot of different quarterbacks with a lot of different skill sets. Your job as a coach is to play to the strengths of your players. You adapt to the personnel you have.” A more balanced offensive attack could make Metcalf and newly-acquired Jonnu Smith more interesting for fantasy purposes.