Jul 21, 2023 4 min read

The Steelers got the final piece to their 2023 offseason puzzle in place earlier this week when they signed outside linebacker Alex Highsmith to a four-year, $68-million contract extension.

It finishes off an offseason in which Pittsburgh fortified itself on both sides of the line of scrimmage, rebuilt its secondary and off-ball linebacker units and made the roster much deeper.

Will it be enough to contend in 2023?

Much of that depends on second-year quarterback Kenny Pickett.

There seems to be a prevailing thought that you can’t run the ball and play good defense in 2023 and win in the NFL.

Did the people who believe that not watch the San Francisco 49ers or Philadelphia Eagles play last season?

Both San Francisco and Philadelphia relied heavily on their running games and defenses to reach the NFC Championship, with the Eagles advancing to the Super Bowl.

The Eagles didn’t win the Super Bowl, but getting to the NFL’s championship game is a major part of the battle. In a one-game, winner-take-all situation, anything can happen.

So, can the Steelers compete and have a chance to get there?

Much depends on the continued growth of Pickett.

The rest of the roster looks pretty good. In fact, from top to bottom, when depth is considered – and depth in football is more important than perhaps any other sport because injuries are going to happen – the Steelers have a top-10 roster if the quarterback is taken out of the equation.

But the quarterback needs to grow up and grow up quickly.

Pickett showed signs in the second half of 2022 that he could take that next step.

After a rough start, he led the Steelers to a 6-1 record in games he started and finished over the second half of the season. In those starts, he threw five touchdown passes and one interception, running for another score.

In the 10 games he started and finished last season, Pickett averaged 35.7 passes per game. In his 14 starts as a rookie in 2004, Ben Roethlisberger averaged 19.6 passes per game.

So, the idea that the Steelers were somehow holding Pickett back last season is false. They were letting him play the position.

Consider that Trevor Lawrence, the top overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, averaged 35.4 passes per game as a rookie but saw that number decrease in his second season to 34.4. Yet Lawrence saw his touchdowns increase from 12 to 25 while his interceptions decreased from 17 to 8.

That’s what people mean when they say they want to see progression from Pickett.

He doesn’t need to take the kind of jump Lawrence did, but he does need to make a discernible improvement.

We’ll begin to see starting Thursday, when the Steelers hold their first practice at Saint Vincent College, just how much Pickett has improved.

n If you listen to local sports talk radio, you hear the hot take artists ripping the Steelers for signing Highsmith.

Here’s the thing: If the Steelers didn’t sign Highsmith, the hot take artists would rip them for allowing a good, young player to leave.

When they do sign him, they’re wrong for signing him because it’s too much money.

But when you’re not paying your quarterback big money because he’s on his rookie deal and most of your offensive skill position players also are on rookie contracts, you can afford to pay for a top-level defense.

You do, however, need that defense to perform up to its pay level.

n Now that the Pirates have called up pretty much all of their top prospects, the only thing that remains to be seen this season is whether those prospects are worthy of their lofty status.

But you most certainly can’t tell that from one game, one week’s worth of games or even one month’s worth.

Baseball, more than any other professional sport, is a marathon as opposed to a sprint.

After all, the Pirates sprinted out of the gate this season, winning 20 of their first 28 games. Since then, not so good.

Patience should be practiced with these young players. There are going to be ups and downs.

The Pirates haven’t exactly earned a lot of patience with their constant rebuilds, but it’s what’s necessary once again.