Let's get to it:
RANDY HOFFERT FROM NEW HOLLAND, PA: The Steelers should have drafted Tyler Guyton instead of Troy Fautanu. Guyton is a better player and not made of plastic. Fautanu couldn't stay healthy in college and he won't stay healthy in the pros.
ANSWER: Troy Fautanu (6-4, 317) was selected 20th overall in the 2024 NFL Draft by the Steelers, and Tyler Guyton (6-7, 322) was selected 29th overall by Dallas in the same draft. While Fautanu did injure a knee and missed all but 55 snaps of his rookie season, Guyton appeared in 15 games, with 11 starts as a rookie. In his 670 offensive snaps, Guyton was flagged for 5 holding penalties, 5 false start penalties, and he committed two other penalties that either were declined or were part of an offsetting foul situation. Your assertion that Fautanu "couldn't stay healthy in college" is not supported by facts. Fautanu played 41 games in his four seasons at the University of Washington, including 28 games in his final two college seasons (2022-23). I don't know whether it'll be Fautanu or Guyton who ends up with a longer/better professional career, and I suspect that you don't know either.
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MASON CHRISTOPHER FROM WINAMAC, IN: Will Justin Fields be returning to the Steelers?
ANSWER: I think we should have the answer to that question when free agency begins on Wednesday, March 12.
JAROD ALLISON FROM ROCKWOOD, PA: I took a look at some of the names of former Steelers who may be available via free agency. Names include Artie Burns, Kelvin Beachum, Javon Hargrave, Robert Spillane, Juju Smith-Schuster, Mason Rudolph, Kendrick Green, Devin Bush, Mike Hilton, Diontae Johnson, Chukwuma Okorafor. Anyone in there you'd have an interest in signing to strengthen a position?
ANSWER: Me? No.
TIMOTHY PAULL FROM PAHRUMP, NV: With the years of poor offensive production, do you attribute this to just not having the playmaking talent at the skill positions, or is it not getting creative offensive coordinators, or is it schematics that are antiquated, or some combination?
ANSWER: Talent is what wins in the NFL. People become too enamored with the concept of schemes and game plans and play-calls, but Super Bowl LIX definitively showed that none of that matters if the other guys are better. The Chiefs offensive line was handled on a consistent basis, and the Eagles managed that without blitzing. When that is happening, you can have a great quarterback (Patrick Mahomes) and a superior strategist (Andy Reid), and that's not going to be enough. The Steelers have used the previous couple of offseasons to invest in their offensive line, and now it's necessary to address the issue that's been identified as an offseason priority. Quarterback. I believe what you're referring to as "years of poor offensive production" coincide with the seasons following Ben Roethlisberger's retirement. And the goal isn't to find the next Ben Roethlisberger – because that might never happen – but to find a way to get more consistently effective play at the quarterback position.
LUKAS CARDINAL FROM SASKATCHEWAN, CANADA: When do you think the Steelers will make a decision at quarterback for the 2025 season? I understand they want to do their due diligence on exploring every option, but we've seen them make other moves. Just curious if you could provide some insight.
ANSWER: I have written this before, and not just once, that I believe the aim is to have identified and then signed the better of the Russell Wilson-Justin Fields option by the start of free agency on Wednesday, March 12. Doing that would open up the rest of the offseason for the Steelers to explore ways to deal with other areas of the depth chart they identify as being in need of reinforcement or an injection of top-level talent.
DAN COLOMBIN FROM OKMULGEE, OK: Did Steelers hire Hines Ward as coach?
ANSWER: No. Hines Ward is the receivers coach at Arizona State.
MARK RICE FROM LAS VEGAS, NV: WR Roman Wilson got hurt in the preseason. Coach Mike Tomlin stated because he missed so much time it was hard for him to get on a moving train. So when he became healthy, Wilson was still a healthy scratch. There were rumors that Wilson was in Tomlin's dog house, and that's why he didn't play. Wilson's position coach stated Wilson was working his tail off and was doing good in practice. Do you know which one of the reasons are true on why Roman Wilson only saw the field for five snaps? Was it one or the other? Or a combination of both?
ANSWER: Working one's "tail off and doing good in practice" is miles away from being ready to contribute down the stretch of an NFL regular season after being injured on the sixth snap of the first practice in pads of training camp and then not playing a snap in the preseason. Wilson also spent a couple of months on the injured reserve list, which means he wasn't allowed to practice with the team during that time. It was only after the Steelers started Wilson's 21-day clock to come off IR that he was "working his tail off and doing good in practice." My understanding of the situation is that at no point was there a legitimate level of confidence that Roman Wilson understood the offense and his responsibilities within it to the degree that would allow him to execute it at game speed during the stretch run of an NFL regular season.
MIKE WINN FROM SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY: I know there are a lot of questions about the Steelers quarterback situation for next year. I saw New England's No. 3 quarterback – Joe Milton III – play in the season finale vs. Buffalo. Granted it was a meaningless game for the Bills, but Milton, who is 6-foot-5, looked good. He threw some accurate passes and made some good decisions. He would be a project and a gamble, but he would also be relatively cheap to acquire, no?
ANSWER: No. Joe Milton III played 6 college seasons – 3 for Michigan and then 3 for Tennessee – and he appeared in 43 games for the Wolverines and Volunteers, where he completed 400-of-649 (61.3 percent) for 5,353 yards, with 37 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. He also rushed 174 times for 661 yards (3.8 average) and 12 more touchdowns. All of that sounds good, but Milton entered the NFL as a sixth-round pick of New England (193rd overall) in 2024, which means the Patriots have total control over his rights for the next 3 seasons. In the unlikely event the Patriots would cut him, Milton would be subject to waivers, and the Steelers would be 21st in priority to claim him. And because Milton is on the books for the veteran minimum salary for the next 3 years, the notion that the Patriots would want to trade him based on the miniscule value he would bring back to them isn't realistic in the least.
NICHOLAS MOSES FROM SIMI VALLEY, CA: Javon Hargrave seems like a logical choice for the Steelers to pursue this offseason given their poor run defense. What are your thoughts on that? Also, please tell me the Steelers would not seriously consider signing a 41-year-old Aaron Rodgers.
ANSWER: My thoughts on both of the options you present is that it makes as much sense to sign a 32-year-old NT who played in only 3 games in 2024 after a season-ending torn triceps in Week 3 to help the run defense as it would to think signing a 41-year-old would be the answer at quarterback.
LARRY LASH FROM TARENTUM, PA: I thought Corliss Waitman was effective enough as an injury replacement for Cameron Johnston as the Steelers punter. But was he effective enough for the Steelers to give him an opportunity in 2025? I assume Waitman will be a free agent come March 12. Am I correct?
ANSWER: Corliss Waitman is under contract to the Steelers for the 2025 season for a reported salary of $1.1 million.
