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Free agency is upon us and the Pittsburgh Steelers are going into it with nearly $45 million in salary cap space. General Manager Omar Khan spoke at the NFL Scouting Combine and definitely gave the impression the Steelers would be willing to spend some money this time around. In our free agency primer, we take a look at the Steelers position-by-position.
The Steelers currently have Jaylen Warren, Kaleb Johnson, Lew Nichols and Max Hurleman on the roster and under contract for the upcoming season. Warren signed a new contract last offseason and is set to be the lead back again this season. Meanwhile, Kaleb Johnson came in as a rookie last season and was a complete disappointment. We should know fairly quickly if he's in the team's long-range plans.
The Steelers have to make a decision on Kenneth Gainwell but he might not give them a chance. After being the team's best player on offense and team MVP last season, Gainwell is going to cash in with a team where he can be the feature back and with Warren already in place, he could be gone.
All the Steelers fans want a guy like Breece Hall or Kenneth Walker but these players don't want to share reps with Warren or possibly Johnson as well. The best mid-tier guys who Pittsburgh might look at are players like JK Dobbins, Rico Dowdle or Jerome Ford to give the Steelers depth but a player who won't rock the boat if they aren't a full-time starter.
We don't see much here in terms of players the Steelers would want to forfeit draft capital for. The Saints have Kendre Miller coming off a torn ACL, but he was showing steady improvement until that point last season. He's a guy who could be on the radar as a late addition to be the team's No. 3 back.
We expect the Steelers to address running back in the draft and hope they can hit where they seemingly missed in 2025. The guy we like the most outside of Notre Dame's Jeremiyah Love is Arkansas' Mike Washington Jr. He's got a frightening blend of size and speed and is a very good receiver out of the backfield. The other guy is Nebraska's Emmett Johnson, who reminds us an awful lot of Warren and might pair up perfectly with him.
This article originally appeared on Steelers Wire: Steelers free agent primer: Running back
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Running backs under contract
The Steelers currently have Jaylen Warren, Kaleb Johnson, Lew Nichols and Max Hurleman on the roster and under contract for the upcoming season. Warren signed a new contract last offseason and is set to be the lead back again this season. Meanwhile, Kaleb Johnson came in as a rookie last season and was a complete disappointment. We should know fairly quickly if he's in the team's long-range plans.
In-house free agents
The Steelers have to make a decision on Kenneth Gainwell but he might not give them a chance. After being the team's best player on offense and team MVP last season, Gainwell is going to cash in with a team where he can be the feature back and with Warren already in place, he could be gone.
Potential free-agent additions
All the Steelers fans want a guy like Breece Hall or Kenneth Walker but these players don't want to share reps with Warren or possibly Johnson as well. The best mid-tier guys who Pittsburgh might look at are players like JK Dobbins, Rico Dowdle or Jerome Ford to give the Steelers depth but a player who won't rock the boat if they aren't a full-time starter.
Potential trade options
We don't see much here in terms of players the Steelers would want to forfeit draft capital for. The Saints have Kendre Miller coming off a torn ACL, but he was showing steady improvement until that point last season. He's a guy who could be on the radar as a late addition to be the team's No. 3 back.
Top NFL draft prospects
We expect the Steelers to address running back in the draft and hope they can hit where they seemingly missed in 2025. The guy we like the most outside of Notre Dame's Jeremiyah Love is Arkansas' Mike Washington Jr. He's got a frightening blend of size and speed and is a very good receiver out of the backfield. The other guy is Nebraska's Emmett Johnson, who reminds us an awful lot of Warren and might pair up perfectly with him.
This article originally appeared on Steelers Wire: Steelers free agent primer: Running back
Continue reading...
