Bang for your buck. That’s what every team is looking to do. Once you get past the stars and huge-money contracts, every organization is trying to gain an edge by maximizing the rest of their roster. The more stars who are getting paid, the more important that mission is. Former agent Joel Corry thinks the Pittsburgh Steelers’ roster is full of value.
In his yearly article creating a 53-man roster of the best group “money can buy” based off cap numbers, five Steelers made Corry’s list. Like most lists, it had a defensive slant featuring three names: DT Cam Heyward, EDGE Nick Herbig, and NCB Beanie Bishop Jr. TE Darnell Washington was the lone representative offensively, while K Chris Boswell made it on special teams.
Heyward isn’t making peanuts but is a far cry from the top 10 in cap hit for the position. While he received an extension before the season, it created little risk for Pittsburgh while giving Heyward the chance to retire a Steeler. That’s looking like reality thanks to his excellent 2024 season, finishing with eight sacks and 11 pass deflections.
Kicker Chris Boswell was the other starter on Corry’s roster. Signing an extension in 2022, he’s proven to be a bargain and is coming off an elite season with stats you probably can recite by now. A league-leading 41 field goals, the first Steeler to ever lead the NFL in scoring, and a pair of six field goal performances that set a league record, Boswell was money all season long. Even with two years left on his deal and Pittsburgh typically waiting until a year out to re-up players, an extension for Boswell this summer could be in order.
Herbig was an impact player for much of the season only to be tripped up by a hamstring injury. While the end of his season was quieter than how it began, partially because the EDGE room got healthy, he finished the year with 5.5 sacks and four forced fumbles. One of the league’s best rotational rushers, he finished off the regular season with a sack on QB Joe Burrow, placing him right behind Alex Highsmith on the team’s seasonal sack list. He remains on his rookie deal through 2026.
Bishop made highlight reels with four interceptions his rookie season, including an impressive snag in the finale against the Cincinnati Bengals. Undrafted out of West Virginia, Bishop spent the first half of the year starting before ceding snaps to veteran Cam Sutton by year’s end. Bishop’s four picks as a UDFA rookie are the second-most in team history, only trailing Jack Butler’s five set in 1951.
Finally, Washington made Corry’s list as a backup tight end. On the second year of his rookie deal, he made big strides as a blocker and allowed Pat Freiermuth to be more flexible. Washington wasn’t used much in the passing game and was frozen out the final few weeks with one target over the final month, but he blocked well in the pass and run game. He’ll be a cheap No. 2 tight end next season.
