Win or lose, it's the preseason. Winning is always the preference, the goal. But the preseason is also a tool, a part of the process that Coach Mike Tomlin refers to as team development.
And really, that's what the Steelers are doing. They've been working since July 23 at the multi-layered task of developing a team capable of contending for a championship in 2025. The training camp portion ended on Aug. 13, and following a 17-14 loss to Tampa Bay on Saturday at Acrisure Stadium, two of the three preseason games are now in the books.
So, what's to make of the team the Steelers have been developing? Realistically, the 2025 Steelers at this point are a work in progress, also a fair assessment of each of the other 31 NFL teams.
For these Steelers, the games start to count in the standings on Sept. 7, but even that isn't a finish line in terms of development. Being the best team in September doesn't mean a whole lot in the NFL, which was a good thing for the reigning Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles, who were a mediocre 2-2 at the end of September 2024.
Still, maybe it's time to make an attempt at assessing how the development of the 2025 Steelers is progressing.
The place to start is where all discussion seems to start when it comes to winning in the NFL these days, and that's at quarterback.
After 21 seasons with Ben Roethlisberger, the Steelers find themselves for the second straight year with an entirely different set of quarterbacks on the roster. The headliner is Aaron Rodgers, he of the 4 MVPs, 62,952 career passing yards, with 503 touchdowns, 116 interceptions, and a rating of 102.6.
Since signing a 1-year contract with the Steelers on June 6, Rodgers has been a delight. Accessible, engaging with players occupying all rungs of the depth chart, a hard worker, intelligent, a leader, and a teammate. He still has the quick release and the arm talent responsible for those aforementioned career statistics, and he's a good fit.
"I think relationships require certain fits," said Coach Mike Tomlin, "and so it requires some discussion, not only us to get to know him, but him to get to know us … Obviously, a quarterback is a significant position. It's a unique role, and it certainly helps the process when his vision and personal aspirations are aligned with those of the team and organization … It certainly was a series of conversations, and really it was more about what he was looking for at this stage of his career. It was about his relationship with the game, his love affair with the game, his leadership style, his desire to lead. Those were kind of the talking points, and all of those things were really aligned with our needs."
Next in line is the offensive line, and one of the ongoing and compelling issues with that unit has been the play of the two tackles – both of whom were recent first-round picks, and both of whom are mission-critical when it comes to keeping Rodgers' 41-year-old body in working order through the marathon of an NFL season.
Broderick Jones – the 24-year-old left tackle – and Troy Fautanu – the 24-year-old right tackle – have worked themselves into a place now where they're closer to being solutions. Haven't arrived yet. But you can see it from here.
"Obviously, we've got some quality edge people, particularly in our first group defensively, guys like T.J., Alex Highsmith, and Nick Herbig," said Tomlin. "Part of our approach to getting better is Steelers vs. Steelers, meaning we go good-on-good in team development. We just believe in that. Some organizations will go 2s vs. 1s, and 1s vs. 2s in an effort to aid development that way. I'm not judging that course of action, but we're a 1s vs. 1s, 2s vs. 2s type of a group."
Working in that environment on a daily basis has paid dividends.
"Absolutely," said Tomlin. "They certainly have enough talent. That's why they were selected where they were selected and rated where they were rated, globally. Then their quality of play would be largely determined by their development, and that development requires reps and particularly reps vs. good people."
Through the draft, via trade and the free agent market, the defense has undergone a makeover, and the new faces will allow the Steelers to field a unit theoretically more able to compete in what Tomlin recognizes as a "coverage league."
"Particularly in today's game, the passing game is such an evolving and major component of play," said Tomlin. "The weighty moments are often one-dimensional passing downs, so you better be able to cover and cover-extend in today's game. I think quarterback mobility, the number of mobile quarterbacks, really is challenging from a coverage standpoint. Those who cover or the schematics that you use to cover, it's just a lot that's going on in today's game from a personnel and from a strategic standpoint that makes that a true statement from my perspective."
And so the Steelers re-tooled to keep up. The group that takes the field on defense now will include 3 cover cornerbacks – Jalen Ramsey, Darius Slay, and Joey Porter Jr. – a couple of every-down inside linebackers – Patrick Queen and Payton Wilson – two agile and hostile safeties – DeShon Elliott and Juan Thornhill – plus a depth piece or two in each. The defensive line got younger and deeper after the drafting of Derrick Harmon and Yahya Black, and don't forget the aforementioned quality edge people.
But don't forget what we were talking about earlier. This is the preseason, and yes, you want to win, but you also want to install and hone. Oh, and you also want to be thoughtful about how much and what you reveal before the start of the regular season.
"Some things, we're just going to do what we do," said Tomlin. "People know it, and so why hide some of your core things. We are a dog-rush team. We've been a dog rush team for a long time in Pittsburgh. Those are old school values that I happen to really appreciate and wanted to continue during my tenure here, and it's really kind of aligned philosophically with the things I believe in. And so, I don't care that people know Blitzburgh is what we do. But certain wrinkles that we are developing, schematically, or personnel combinations, anything involving specialization, we certainly may hold some of those things until regular season football. And it might not be Week 1. It might not be until it's relevant in terms of a matchup or a component of play that gives us an advantage to win."
With the pieces in place, the collective has developed what coaches refer to as demeanor. Aggressively physical with a mean streak is demeanor. Add demeanor to coverage ability, sprinkle in the pressure that forces the mistakes that create turnovers, and words such as "elite" can enter the conversation.
"I've been around some really elite defenses, and I believe we have the makeup to be that," said Tomlin. "But elite defenses deliver world championships. Elite defenses are on the cover of Sports Illustrated. I simply was saying I think we've got enough of the ingredients that we need to make that a goal of ours and not a dream. Meaning that it's something we're capable of, something that we're going to work toward daily. I feel that good about the collection of men that we have, and the development of schematics that we have. We can't run away from expectations; we've got to run to it. And I thoughtfully put that out there, because that's how I feel about it."
Nevertheless there are soft spots. The depth along the offensive line might be unable to absorb an extended absence of any of the starters. The running game has a ways to go. Can a tight end-centric group of eligibles provide enough weapons for Rodgers? Is second-year receiver Roman Wilson somehow an answer? And what would happen if DK Metcalf was injured?
It has helped that Rodgers has been working with, and on, Wilson. He used a media session to pump up Wilson, and he has used countless reps in a variety of drills to get the ball to him down the field in areas where he can make plays and build confidence. In the two preseason games – even though Rodgers hasn't played a down in either – Wilson has been targeted six times and has come away with 4 catches for 96 yards (24.0 average).
The preseason finale is days away, and then come the decisions on the initial 53-man roster by 4 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 26. Twelve days after that, the regular season begins. It should be the start of an interesting, although not completely smooth, ride.
And it has been fun watching it all develop.
