The Pittsburgh Steelers’ new front office, led by General Manager Omar Khan, looked at free agency in 2023 and attacked getting an impact player at a position of need. The offensive line struggled in the 2022 season, and so Khan responded by signing one-time Super Bowl-winning guard Isaac Seumalo away from the Philadelphia Eagles. Pittsburgh started its work on creating more money to spend in free agency with the releases of quarterback Mitch Trubisky, offensive lineman Chukwuma Okorafor, and punter Pressley Harvin III. Steelers insider Mark Kaboly thinks that after some other moves to free up cash, the Steelers will take a similar approach to 2023.

Kaboly joined The Fan Morning Show on Monday to talk about multiple Steelers offseason topics. Despite the perceived money problems the Steelers have right now when looking at websites like OverTheCap.com or Spotrac, Kaboly doesn’t see it as being a big issue for the team.

“What we have to work from is last year,” Kaboly explained. “They seemed to find people they like and it didn’t matter. They can create as much money as they need. You can manipulate four or five contracts to create a bunch of money. Cut a few guys here and there.”

Kaboly speculated that players like TJ Watt, Alex Highsmith, Minkah Fitzpatrick, and Cameron Heyward are all potential guys whom the team could approach about restructuring deals. The conversation with Heyward may be challenging as he’s indicated he’s not in favor of taking a pay cut.

Veteran wide receiver Allen Robinson II is likely going to get released to save the Steelers some more money on a player that helped with veteran leadership, but didn’t have the kind of production to bring him back at the price he will cost.

Once the front office has finished opening up the money it thinks will be necessary to acquire free agents, it will be about identifying where it thinks that money is best spent. Kaboly had a few ideas of positions that he thought the team would target.

Steelers Free Agent Splash Either At Defensive Line Or Cornerback

Kaboly’s initial thought was that Chicago Bears cornerback Jaylon Johnson would be an ideal target for an impact addition. The Steelers were reported to be in the mix to acquire the Bears’ second-round pick from the 2020 NFL Draft.

The other spot that Kaboly named where Pittsburgh might look to find an upgrade is on the defensive line. Larry Ogunjobi and Heyward are getting older and have dealt with injuries in the last couple of seasons. The team needs to get younger at the position and find another impact player. Kaboly wondered about the possibility of going after Miami Dolphins defender, Christian Wilkins, who is only 28.

Kaboly said that while it might be popular to try and splurge to get a quarterback, the team has other pressing needs that would be better addressed. The organization seems committed to trying to make Kenny Pickett work in his third season with a new offensive coordinator. He argued that the team would be better served committing resources to those other holes on the roster.

“I’d much rather create space and go find a cornerback,” Kaboly said. “I don’t know what the Bears are going to do with Jaylon Johnson. I don’t know how much he’s going to get on the open market. It’s probably a ton, but I’d rather throw money at a guy like that than Justin Fields or a quarterback that may or may not help you.”

The team has plenty of work to do in the offseason. As Kaboly mentioned, there’s likely more cap shenanigans coming, which used to be Khan’s specialty before he took over as general manager. The team will do what it can to free up the cash it feels is necessary to add players to take the team to the next level, whether that’s a cornerback or defensive lineman is still a mystery.