Will straddling the fence of a rebuild and chasing a title bite the Steelers?

The Pittsburgh Steelers have led an interesting path through this point of the 2021 offseason. On one hand, they have brought a lot of the band back together, but on the other the Steelers could have done more to improve the roster. Needless to say, they have chosen not to.

So, where are we? Are the Steelers trying to rebuild on the fly without any down years in-between? Possibly. Could they still make some free agency moves? Absolutely. But one thing is for certain, towing the line they are currently on is playing with some serious fire.

To recap some of the moves the Steelers made this offseason: We know they added void years onto the deals of Ben Roethlisberger, JuJu Smith-Schuster, and Eric Ebron. This means the Steelers will still have to pay them after they are gone. You would think if they would be as bold to make moves like that they would do everything in their power to free up some money to strengthen a possible championship run. The thing is, they didn't, or at least haven't yet, exhausted every option. In fact, like I've detailed in the pas, the Steelers can still create another $16 million and clean up the remaining free agent pool with $26 million dollars in space.

If you’re a team dead set on making one last run to a title with Ben Roethlisberger, you make those moves. But here we are, the Steelers have yet to take part in the second wave free agency which solidified the Buccaneers roster a year ago and ultimately led to a Super Bowl title.

On the other side of this coin, if the Steelers are content on rebuilding this roster, why push so much money into the 2022 season? With rollover and current projections, the Steelers would top every other teams available salary cap and could spend their way out of a rebuild after just one season. Whatever it is they’re doing right now almost feels like they are extending a period of mediocrity that could be taken care of in less than a year.

All will be forgiven if the Steelers just get a touch more aggressive in this offseason and fill out there roster like they are serious Super Bowl contenders. If they don’t, and the 2021 season is a flop, we have to ask ourselves why did this team push so much money into future years, basically for nothing. They have already halfway committed to competing in 2021, but half way doesn't cut it in the NFL.

But what do you think? Should the Steelers make the most out of this season by exhausting every salary option available to make this team better? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.