PITTSBURGH — A good defense won't get it done for the Steelers this season. In a year where they are breaking in a new quarterback, only great will do.
And for the money they're shelling out — a league-high $116 million dedicated toward the defense, according to spotrac.com — great is what they better get.
Most of the cash is wrapped into three players, one at each level of the unit — Cam Heyward, T.J. Watt and Minkah Fitzpatrick, who signed a record-setting $84.224 million contract Wednesday. He is now the highest-paid safety in the NFL, as measured by annual salary ($18.4 million).
This comes a year after the Steelers made Watt the highest-paid defensive player in the league (since eclipsed by Aaron Donald), and it's a deal that makes sense.
First, good on the Steelers and new general manager Omar Khan, I guess, for continuing to show they have fully arrived in the 21st century. They guaranteed Minkah's base salary beyond one season, a year after changing policy by doing the same for Watt. Minkah got two years of guaranteed salary and $36 million fully guaranteed in all.
Second, even though he is coming off a down year by any measurement, Minkah remains an outstanding player whose best years are ahead. It would have been tough for any free safety to thrive on that defense last season. Maybe two players among the front seven (Watt, Heyward) had good years. The line was mostly a disaster. The inside linebacker play was a historic embarrassment for a franchise that prides itself on linebacker play.
Minkah was forced to become more of a tackler than a center fielder. He proved a willing combatant, delivering 84 solo tackles — 21 more than anybody on the team and 24 more than he had recorded in any other season. He shouldn't have to be that kind of player this season.
That's the hope, anyway. The line remains a major question mark, as age sets in for some players while others might still be too young to make a major impact.
We'll see if Devin Bush — one of six first-round picks who figure to start — can rebound and at least become an average player. The Steelers drafted him to be a star, to be the quarterback of their defense and an elite playmaker, but I would take average after last year's debacle. That would be a stepping-stone.
I would expect Minkah to at least double and maybe triple his two interceptions from last season, if the offense is improved. It's much easier to play defense — and to rack up turnovers — when playing with a lead. And I don't have to tell you the Steelers almost never had a lead, let alone one of any significance, last season. Their offense often went backward early in games. They led at the half in just four of 17 games.
The Steelers are spending the second-least amount of money in the league on their offense, which is mostly a function of youth. Their best players aren't yet due a second contract (Diontae Johnson being the exception), and unlike many of the better teams, they aren't spending big money on a quarterback.
They also probably won't deliver the kind of high-flying aerial circus you'll see in Buffalo, Cincinnati and elsewhere, but that doesn't mean they can't win. They'll need efficient quarterback play, a quality running game and an elite defense.
That formula can still work. The San Francisco 49ers nearly won a Super Bowl using it three years ago. They barely threw the ball in the playoffs and were a play or two from winning it all.
The Steelers brought in a highly respected defensive mind in Brian Flores to scheme with Mike Tomlin and Teryl Austin. They have poured money into their three defensive stars. They have attempted to upgrade the support positions via the draft and free agency. It's time.
Time to be great.
