During the 2023 NFL season, a lot of things went wrong for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The team’s quarterback play and offensive coordinators receive a lot of credit, but the defense wasn’t without its problems.
The defense struggled with consistency at times, partly due to Damontae Kazee’s suspension and injuries that caused multiple lineup changes.
Mark Kaboly of The Athletic feels that, at one point, the problem could have been easily avoided.
In a piece with Mike DeFabo discussing the season grades of Steelers players, Kaboly referred to Pittsburgh’s decision to not re-sign Terrell Edmunds as a grave error.
Parker Abate of Steelers Nation thinks the team shouldn’t make the same error again in 2024.
In talking about Kaboly’s assessment of the 2023 error, Abate suggested it would be wise for the Steelers to attempt to re-sign Edmunds in 2024.
With only $2 million left on his 2023 contract, Edmunds should be an affordable alternative to provide the Steelers with depth in 2024 after they finished 2023 with Eric Rowe and Patrick Peterson seeing a lot of playing time at safety.
The Steelers had to cope with a number of significant defensive line absences during the 2023 campaign.
Alexander Kwon suffered an achilles tear. Cole Holcomb’s knee injury ruined his season.
Due to a rib injury he sustained in Week 11, Keanu Neal was placed on injured reserve and never came back.
Minkah Fitzpatrick missed two games due to injuries.
The most crucial game of the year was missed by T.J. Watt. He was unable to play in the playoff game against the Bills due to a knee injury sustained in Week 18.
Edmunds signed a one-year contract with the Philadelphia Eagles after not being re-signed by the Steelers.
He was traded to the Titans in exchange for Kevin Byard, so he never finished the season with the Eagles.
In his first eight games with the team, Edmunds had 15 tackles and recorded 2.5 sacks, carving out a great niche for himself in Tennessee.
He helped his old team qualify for the playoffs in his ninth game.
The Steelers knew heading into Week 18’s Sunday that a loss by either the Jaguars or the Bills would guarantee them a postseason berth.
The Jaguars traveled to Tennessee to take on the Titans, led by Edmunds.
Edmunds had a great game, recording five tackles, one pass defense, and—most importantly—picking off a Trevor Lawrence pass in the first half to set up the Titans’ touchdown, which gave them a 21-10 lead.
After beating 28–20, the Titans advanced the Steelers to the
