The Steelers could be losing their 2025 team MVP.
Via Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, running back Kenneth Gainwell will be testing the market next week upon expiration of his one-year deal with the Steelers. (Post-Combine, Gainwell’s agent surely has a good idea as to what the market will be.)
Gainwell was a bargain for the Steelers a year ago, signing a one-year, $1.79 million deal.
Last year, Gainwell had a career-high 537 rushing yards, a career-high 486 receiving yards, and a career-high eight touchdowns. He appeared in 17 games with only two starts.
Starter Jaylen Warren currently makes $5.9 million per year, on a deal that runs through 2027. He had 958 rushing yards, 333 receiving yards, and eight total touchdowns last year.
If Gainwell leaves, he’ll be the first team MVP to exit in free agency since 1996, when quarterback Neil O’Donnell defected for the Jets.
Whether someone will offer a significant contract to Gainwell remains to be seen. The simple reality for the Steelers, given the nature of the running back position, is that they’ll find another veteran running back to take a one-year deal similar to the one Gainwell signed last March, if Gainwell goes to a new team.
Teams making decisions about picking up the fifth-year options on the contracts of their 2023 first-round picks now know how much that will cost.
The NFL revealed the values on Friday afternoon. There are four levels of compensation at each position. Players who have made multiple Pro Bowls as an original selection are at the top followed by players with one Pro Bowl selection and players who have hit playing time milestones before reaching the lowest level.
Panthers quarterback Bryce Young and Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud were the first two picks of that draft and both of them reached the playing time level of compensation. That will leave them with fully guaranteed salaries of $25.904 million if the teams decide to exercise the options, but longer-term extensions are also a possibility now that they have finished their third seasons.
The full list of 2023 first-rounders — there were 31 that year because the Dolphins were stripped of their pick — and their fifth-year option salaries appears below:
1. Panthers QB Bryce Young — $25.904 million (playing time).
2. Texans QB C.J. Stroud — $25.904 million (playing time).
3. Texans DE Will Anderson — $21.512 (Pro Bowl).
4. Colts QB Anthony Richardson — $22.483 million (base).
5. Seahawks CB Devon Witherspoon — $21.161 million (multiple Pro Bowls).
6. Cardinals OT Paris Johnson — $19.072 million (playing time).
7. Raiders DE Tyree Wilson — $14.475 million (base).
8. Falcons RB Bijan Robinson — $11.323 million (Pro Bowl).
9. Eagles DT Jalen Carter — $27.127 million (multiple Pro Bowls).
10. Bears OT Darnell Wright — $19.072 million (playing time).
11. Titans OG Peter Skoronski — $19.072 million (playing time).
12. Lions RB Jahmyr Gibbs — $14.293 million (multiple Pro Bowls).
13. Packers DE Lukas Van Ness — $14.475 million (base).
14. Steelers OT Broderick Jones — $19.072 million (playing time).
15. Jets DE Will McDonald — $14.475 million (base).
16. Rams CB Emmanuel Forbes — $12.633 million (base).
17. Patriots CB Christian Gonzalez — $18.119 million (Pro Bowl).
18. Lions LB Jack Campbell — $21.925 million (Pro Bowl).
19. Buccaneers DT Calijah Kancey — $15.451 (playing time).
20. Seahawks WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba — $23.852 million (Pro Bowl).
21. Chargers WR Quentin Johnston — $18 million (playing time).
22. Ravens WR Zay Flowers — $27.298 million (multiple Pro Bowls).
23. Vikings WR Jordan Addison — $18 million (playing time).
24. Giants CB Deonte Banks — $12.633 million (base).
25. Bills TE Dalton Kincaid — $8.162 million (base).
26. Jets DT Mazi Smith — $13.391 million (base) Smith was traded to the Jets by the Cowboys.
27. Jaguars OT Anton Harrison — $19.072 million (playing time).
28. Bengals DE Myles Murphy — $14.475 million (base).
29. Saints DT Bryan Bresee — $13.391 million (base).
30. Eagles LB Nolan Smith — $13.752 million (base).
31. Chiefs Felix Anudike-Uzomah — $14.475 million (base).
The latest NFL Players Association report cards graded the Steelers’ home field as the worst in the NFL “by a wide margin.” Coincidentally (or not), the Steelers are replacing the playing surface.
Via Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, team owner Art Rooney II said Thursday that the new grass will be Tahoma 31 Bermuda. It’s a mix of Bermuda and bluegrass. The Eagles and Bears currently use it.
“It sounds crazy, but they grow the grass on a plastic sheet first to make sure the roots are growing,” Rooney said at the Scouting Combine in Indianapolis. “It’s a different blend of what we have been using. They’ve been using it in other places and it’s been working.”
The Steelers previously used Kentucky bluegrass. The field experiences extra wear and tear because both the Steelers and the Pitt Panthers play at Acrisure Stadium, sometimes on the same weekend.
The Steelers have resisted using artificial turf. But they haven’t ruled it out.
“The only way we would consider [an artificial surface] is if the sod farms can’t produce good grass for us,” Rooney said. “We’re kind of at their mercy. If something happened with the sod farms not producing enough of the good grass, we would have to consider a change.”
Hopefully, it won’t come to that. Other teams in a four-season climate have found a way to make grass fields work well. It’s a matter of making the proper investment.
Given the Steelers overall scores on the latest NFLPA report cards, it’s fair to ask whether the Steelers are willing or able to pay what it takes to give the players the best facilities and field.
At one point last year, Penn State quarterback Drew Allar was the betting favorite to be the first overall pick in the 2026 NFL draft. Then he got off to a rough start to the season, suffered a season-ending ankle injury in October, and became one of the biggest question marks in this year’s draft.
Allar is at the Combine, where he’s healthy enough that he’s expected to take part in throwing drills, and teams will be taking a close look to see where he is and what kind of player they think he can be.
The Steelers are one of those teams and have met with Allar in Indianapolis, according to PennLive.com. The quarterback situation in Pittsburgh is in flux, as Aaron Rodgers has not said whether he’ll play this year and could sign elsewhere if he returns for 2026. Mason Rudolph and Will Howard are the two holdover quarterbacks on the roster. The Steelers could see value in adding Allar to the roster, even if he doesn’t project to play as a rookie.
Allar finished his Penn State career with a 63.2 percent completion rate, 7,402 passing yards, 61 touchdowns, 13 interceptions, and another 732 yards and 12 touchdowns rushing. He has a strong arm, and many of the traits NFL teams look for in a quarterback. In a year when the quarterback class is wide open beyond projected first overall pick Fernando Mendoza, Allar will hope to impress in Indianapolis.
In 2012, the NFL implemented a two-day negotiating period for impending free agents, in advance of the official launch of free agency. It allows all teams to negotiate with any and all players whose contracts expire with the launch of the new league year.
The talks happen exclusively with agents, unless players are self-represented. The teams are not allowed to speak directly to players who employ agents. This results in players routinely being signed sight unseen.
The Steelers have proposed an adjustment to this approach. Per a source with knowledge of the situation, Pittsburgh wants teams to be able to speak by video or phone call with up to five players during the two-day window.
The proposal also would allow teams to make travel arrangements with the player once an agreement to terms has been reached.
The tweak would give teams and players a limited chance to get acquainted before negotiations result in an agreement. That makes sense for everyone. Currently, it’s all about numbers and nothing more during the negotiating window. Why not give both the team and the player a chance to have direct communications before deciding whether to make such a significant commitment?
There’s no downside. Tampering already happens, rampantly. During the Scouting Combine, agents are meeting with teams to have contract discussions that currently are prohibited. In plenty of situations, those conversations began days if not weeks before the NFL descended on Indianapolis.
Once the negotiating period opens, teams and players are permitted to reach agreements in principle. It’s appropriate to give teams and players a chance to acquire more information before it gets to that point.
Our only suggestion would be this — don’t limit it to five. During the two-day period, let teams talk directly to any and all players who are due to become free agents.
By then, the cat has long since exited the bag. At that point, it’s about finding the right fits. More information will help avoid a case of buyer’s (or seller’s) remorse.
