Let's get to it:
LARRY LASH FROM TARENTUM, PA: Can you tell me how many offensive snaps WR Mike Williams played after being acquired at the trading deadline? I've been seeing fans complaining about him not getting a chance, but I thought he had ample opportunity to prove himself. I think he's a good receiver, but maybe he didn't know his routes well enough or maybe he wasn't getting separation. Can you let me know his snap count and maybe give me your thoughts.
ANSWER: Mike Williams was acquired in a trade with the New York Jets, and after coming to the Steelers, he appeared in 9 games, with 2 starts, and played 171 offensive snaps. With that playing time, Williams was targeted 13 times, and he finished with 9 catches for 132 yards (13.4 average) and 1 TD to go along with accounting for 5 first downs. I don't know specifically why Williams' production wasn't higher, but based on the state of the Steelers' offense down the stretch (no more than 17 points in any of the defeats during the 5-game losing streak), I have trouble believing Williams wasn't being targeted on purpose.
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TODD CRUM FROM RED BANK, TN: With the injuries to Troy Fautanu and James Daniels on the offensive line and then the development of Zach Frazier and Mason McCormick, there will be big decisions before the start of next season. On paper, this looks like a young, strong, and improving part of our team. What would you like to see happen with this group during the offseason? Trade one or two for other needs? Keep everyone for training camp and have a big competition? Or release bigger contracts for more cap space?
ANSWER: Nate Herbig, Dan Moore Jr., and James Daniels all are set to become unrestricted free agents in March, and so they're not counting on the salary cap. Besides Isaac Seumalo (roughly $8 million on the cap assuming he makes the 53-man roster) everyone else is either on a rookie contract or a reserve/futures deal, which means money is not an issue as this unit is currently constituted. Because of the unrestricted free agent situation, the Steelers look to have 5 starting-caliber offensive linemen, and injuries rarely allow 5 to be enough over the course of a full season. The Steelers don't have a surplus of offensive linemen, and right now I believe it's easy to make the case they don't have enough offensive linemen.
CHRISTOPHER WINKLER FROM FRANKLIN, PA: A recent submission got me wondering about field setup for international games. Obviously most of the venues where the games are played are actually soccer fields repurposed for football. Who sets up the field and goalposts and makes sure it is all done correctly?
ANSWER: Being that international games are now regular season games and count in the standings, the NFL takes over and is responsible for every aspect, from the quality of the playing surface, the setting up of the field, installing the goalposts, hooking up the in-helmet communication systems and the video replay equipment. Everything.
DAVID HALLBERG FROM SPARTANSBURG, PA: Do you think Daniel Jones would be better than Russell Wilson or Justin Fields?
ANSWER: I do not.
DELMAS MAYNARD FROM DINGESS, WV: If the Steelers don't keep Russell Wilson, and if Matthew Stafford is available, then do you think they go after Stafford?
ANSWER: Matthew Stafford is under contract to the Rams through the 2026 season, and so the first issue to consider is how is he available? Would it be via trade, or would it be in the event the Rams release him? If it would be via trade, what would the Rams require in return? And if Stafford would be released, what might other potentially interested teams be willing to offer him? One final thought: you ignored the possibility of the Steelers re-signing Justin Fields, which might be your most significant oversight in proposing your scenario.
MARK GATES FROM ERIE, PA: I realize the old saying is that hindsight is 20/20, but I can't help but think what a wasted first-round draft pick the Steelers spent on Kenny Pickett, and how it continues to hurt this team. I know there are several first-round quarterbacks who didn't pan out in the history of the NFL, but since Pickett was playing at Pitt, and with the inside knowledge and expertise of the Steelers staff, this pick reminds me of something the Cleveland Browns would do. I really thought of this when he was playing in the end of the Super Bowl as a mop-up. Your opinion please?
ANSWER: Ben Roethlisberger retired after the 2021 season, and General Manager Kevin Colbert had announced he was going to retire after the 2022 NFL Draft. My memory of that 2022 offseason was that Colbert wanted to leave the Steelers with some options at quarterback, because after the organizational decision had been made to stick with Roethlisberger after his elbow surgery in 2019, the idea was then to try to give him as much as possible to work with in his final couple of seasons with the team. That's why WR Chase Claypool was the team's first pick (second round) in 2020, why RB Najee Harris and TE Pat Freiermuth were the first two picks in 2021. In Roethlisberger's final season, the other quarterbacks were Mason Rudolph and Dwayne Haskins. I believe that's why the Steelers made the quick move to sign Mitch Trubisky when free agency opened in 2022 and then spent that No. 1 pick in the draft on Kenny Pickett. Looking at those quarterback moves in real time:
• Trubisky was a 27-year-old veteran NFL starter (29-21 record in 4 seasons) who had enough size, arm strength, and mobility within the pocket to have been the 2nd overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft. He was signed to a 2-year, $14.3 million contract with only $5.2 million guaranteed. Very reasonable terms for the team.
• The Steelers viewed Pickett as the best quarterback available in the 2022 NFL Draft. That didn't mean they saw him as the "next Roethlisberger," as a quarterback who could carry a team to the Super Bowl. He wasn't special from a raw skills perspective, but he had shown some moments in college where he produced for his team in critical situations in big games.
Looking back now, Brock Purdy was the best quarterback available in the 2022 NFL Draft, and even though he was a bargain as a 7th-round pick, he's not a "carry a team to the Super Bowl" quarterback either. The draft is not an exact science, and at the NFL level, scouting/evaluating quarterbacks has been proven statistically to be extremely difficult. Trubisky showed himself to be a guy more comfortable as a backup. Pickett found winning at the NFL level to be way more difficult/complex/nuanced than it was in college, and then when the Steelers were able to add Russell Wilson for the veteran minimum because the Broncos were picking up the rest of the tab, and then had Justin Fields fall into their laps for what ended up being a future sixth-round pick, Pickett decided he wanted to "start over" somewhere else instead of stay and learn from the Super Bowl winning veteran and compete with the ex-11th overall pick who had been unsuccessful (10-28-0) as a 3-year starter in Chicago.
It is fine to be disappointed with how those moves panned out, but I don't believe all of the outcomes of those moves were foreseeable. But you're right about one thing: hindsight is 20/20.
WILL McINTOSH FROM BELLEVIEW, FL: My questions has to do with the helmet radio and play-calling. Who can talk to the quarterback? Is it just the offensive coordinator or just the head coach or a combination of both? And what about a defensive coordinator, if they see a weakness in the opponent's alignment?
ANSWER: One coach per team is allowed to communicate directly with the quarterback, and the play-caller is typically that person. If the coordinator is calling the plays, he's talking to the quarterback; if the head coach (Andy Reid, Sean McVay) is calling the plays, then he's the one with the direct line to the quarterback, and that communication is cut off with 15 seconds left on the play clock.
CARSTEN BRAUN FROM NEUWIED, GERMANY: Great to see the Steelers coming to Europe/Dublin. My question is about Cameron Johnston: I had high hopes to see very improved punting from the Steelers at the start of last season, but then he was injured and done for the season. Is it reasonable to assume that he can/will be the punter in 2025?
ANSWER: Cameron Johnston sustained a significant knee injury in the regular season opener, and that required surgery and landed him on the injured reserve list for the rest of the season. The injury was to Johnston's right knee, and that's his punting leg. He is diligent in his rehabilitation, but I don't believe there's any way to know definitively at this stage what his status will be for the 2025 season.
STEFAN PISOCKI FROM WILMINGTON, DE: Since moving from the New York City area, I have not followed the trainwreck known as the Jets. But I hear they have a wide receiver, Garrett Wilson, who wants out. I took a look at his stats, 7 touchdowns, over 1,000 yards receiving, and only 24 years old. Can the Steelers make a George Pickens-for-Garrett Wilson trade happen? Would draft picks need to be thrown in?
ANSWER: One of the things about fans is they're under the impression that opposing teams are willing to make lopsided trades with their favorite team. Garrett Wilson was the 11th overall pick of the 2022 NFL Draft, and he has 279 catches on 492 targets for 3,249 yards (11.6 average) and 54 touchdowns. George Pickens was a No. 2 pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, and he has 174 catches on 293 targets for 2,841 yards (16.3 average) and12 touchdowns. The Jets have a new head coach and reportedly have told Aaron Rodgers he won't be brought back, and so I don't see any possibility that they would be willing to trade Wilson even-up for Pickens. In fact, in my opinion, it only makes sense to give Wilson a shot with a new coach and coordinator and quarterback and to give the new coach and coordinator and quarterback an opportunity with a guy who was an 11th overall pick of a recent draft.
