Mar 24, 2023 5 min read

We’ll hear from Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin at the NFL meetings next week in Phoenix for the first time since the end of the 2022 season. And it will be interesting to see what he thinks of his team following the opening salvo in free agency.

As they were a year ago, the Steelers were active in the opening week of free agency. And they were very active in shoring up the middle of the field, adding guards Isaac Seumalo and Nate Herbig, linebackers Cole Holcomb and Elandon Roberts, re-signing defensive lineman Larry Ogunjobi and safety Damontae Kazee.

It was much the same a year ago, when the team added guard James Daniels and center Mason Cole, along with linebacker Myles Jack in the first days of free agency.

Anyone who doesn’t think the Steelers are a better team now than they were last week at this time isn’t looking too hard.

By landing Seumalo and Herbig, the Steelers added some serious beef and depth up front.

At the very least, they’ve pushed left guard Kevin Dotson, arguably their most inconsistent lineman last season, into a backup role.

And Holcomb and Roberts should be an upgrade over the trio of Jack, Devin Bush and Robert Spillane that manned the inside linebacker position last season. By season’s end, it was Spillane who was seeing the most playing time of that trio because of injuries to Jack. And Spillane is not a starting-caliber player.

Losing cornerback Cameron Sutton and replacing him with Patrick Peterson is something of a wash. Sutton was a valuable member of the defense, but Peterson, even at 33, should be able to replicate many of the things Sutton did – and maybe more.

In his career, Sutton had eight interceptions. Peterson had five last year alone and has 34 in his career.

And the Steelers most certainly aren’t done. They’ll continue to add players here and there, most notably in the draft, where they hold the 17th, 32nd and 49th pick, among others.

It’s all setting up for a pretty big remake of the roster over the past two seasons.

Of course, none of it will matter if Kenny Pickett doesn’t take a big step forward at quarterback in his second season.

The Steelers are banking on that.

• Ben Roethlisberger created a stir last week when he went on 105.9 The X with Mark Madden and said he spoke with the 49ers late last season about a potential comeback.

That obviously didn’t happen, as the 49ers, who had lost Trey Lance and Jimmy Garoppolo to injuries, were facing the option of playing Brock Purdy, a seventh-round draft pick, at quarterback for the remainder of the season.

Both sides should be happy about that. Despite his shortcomings as a passer, Purdy does have mobility, something Roethlisberger no longer possesses.

And Roethlisberger playing for another team just wouldn’t have seemed right.

• Pitt and Penn State each won games in the NCAA Tournament, while West Virginia narrowly lost its first-round game.

Even though all three have been ousted from the tournament, it was a good season for them.

It also just goes to show how spoiled we all got during the previous decade when it was common for Pitt and West Virginia to get to the Sweet 16 or better. That became expected.

But it’s hard to get to the final 16 and even more so to reach the Elite Eight or Final Four, let alone the national championship game.

• Penn State learned what happens when you have some success, as men’s basketball coach Micah Shrewsberry has been hired to replace Mike Brey at Notre Dame.

If the Nittany Lions are serious about consistently contending in basketball – and they have a massive building in the Bryce Jordan Center to fill on a regular basis – they have to not only get a good coach such as Shrewsberry, but they have to do what is needed to keep him.

• Hard as it is to believe, the Pirates will kick off their 2023 regular season in less than a week at Cincinnati for a three-game series before heading to Boston for another three-game set.

Why does Major League Baseball do this to itself every year weather-wise. Anyone want to bet how many of those six games are played in less-than-ideal baseball weather, whether it be rain, snow or sub-optimal temperatures?

The league has enough warm-weather teams and others that play in domes to spend at least the first couple of weeks of March at those locations. It would certainly be better than tempting fate with series in Cincinnati, Boston and then Pittsburgh.

• According to most betting sites, the Pirates’ over/under total for wins this season is 68.5.

With some of the pieces now in place, the Pirates should get over that total – even if it’s just by a few games.

• That was a huge win for the Penguins Wednesday night in Denver against the Colorado Avalanche.

The Penguins have been bailing water all season, and after a recent four-game losing streak that saw them outscored 18-7, they had fallen out of the second Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference as they headed west to play the Avalanche and Stars.

Losing both of those games might have been the end.

They still aren’t a contender for the Stanley Cup, but at least they’ve stayed relevant with that win over Colorado.