After the close of spring practices with the end of OTAs on Friday, the Pittsburgh Steelers are headed to their six-week summer break before they will reconvene for training camp at St. Vincent College on July 28.
If history is any guide, general manager Omar Khan will not be taking the entire time off.
Last year, the Steelers made a blockbuster trade, bringing in three-time All-Pro cornerback Jalen Ramsey and Pro Bowl tight end Jonnu Smith from the Miami Dolphins in exchange for Minkah Fitzpatrick on June 30.
In 2024, they brought inside linebacker Tyler Matakevich back into the fold on July 17, after he had spent four seasons with the Buffalo Bills .
The year before that, it was a surprising departure, as the team cut ties with wide receiver Anthony Miller after the end of training camp.
Several more additions have come just after the start of camp, with linebacker Kwon Alexander joining the team on July 30, 2023. Last year, safety Chuck Clark signed with the Steelers on July 25.
So if Khan is going to do some work this summer, what changes might he want to make to his team before it reforms in the Laurel Highlands this summer?
Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Jalen Ramsey during a game against the New York Jets on Sept. 7, 2025. –Ed Thompson / Steelers Now
The Steelers have three veteran NFL safeties on their 90-man offseason roster: returning starter DeShon Elliott and free agent acquisitions Jaquan Brisker and Darnell Savage .
Three veteran safeties would probably be enough, if not for the caveat that all have primarily played strong safety throughout their NFL careers. Brisker is going to mostly play free safety for the Steelers, and if they're going to play as much split-safety alignments as they've shown so far, that makes some sense. But they lack a playmaker that they can truly feel comfortable with as a centerfield-style option.
Ramsey, a converted cornerback has also played some free safety, but it isn't his natural position, and it probably wasn't his best spot in 2026. He'll be primarily deployed out of the slot.
Seventh-round pick Robert Spears-Jennings has the athletic traits, but it's unclear how close to making the 53-man roster he is, and if the team would entrust such a role to a late-round rookie.
The move:The Houston Texans released Jimmie Ward in March, and he hasn't resurfaced with another NFL team as of yet. Ward missed the entire 2025 season with a combination of some now-resolved legal issues and a foot injury, but if he can get healthy, he's a versatile player that can be used both as a free safety and in the slot and as long as he recovers with his long speed intact, he is a good fit for what the Steelers lack.
Pittsburgh Steelers punter Cameron Johnston at training camp on Aug. 12, 2024. — Ed Thompson / Steelers Now
Cameron Johnston is far and away the favorite to become the Steelers punter once again, with only undrafted free agent Aidan Laros , who was claimed off waivers from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last week, as token competition.
Maybe Larose, who averaged only 45.5 yards per kick at Kentucky, will unexpectedly turn out to be something.
But it would behoove Khan to shore up this position and not locate Johnston as a sure thing. The 34-year-old missed almost the entire 2024 season with the Steelers with a grisly leg injury. He returned to action last summer, but lost a competition to Corliss Waitman. After he was cut by the Steelers, Johnston spent time with the Buffalo Bills, got hurt again, got cut, then landed with the New York Giants , and was cut again.
If you're keeping track, that's two injuries and three releases over his last five NFL games played. And in those five games, he averaged a pedestrian 45.6 gross yards per punt.
That's not to say that Johnston can't find his stroke again, but counting on it seems like a bad plan.
The move: Jamie Gillan , who the Giants chose to keep instead of Johnston last season, is also a free agent. "The Scottish Hammer" has kicked in AFC North conditions before, with the Cleveland Browns ,
Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Malik Harrison plays against the Indianapolis Colts. Ed Thompson/Steelers Now
The Steelers have almost $8.7 million in cap space this season tied up in backup linebacker, between Malik Harrison and Cole Holcomb . That feels unnecessary, especially as the team already has quite a bit tied up in starter Patrick Queen and has high hopes for former third-round pick Payton Wilson.
The Steelers can clear $4.75 million of that total by trading or releasing Harrison, and while they aren't currently in a salary cap crunch, if Khan wants to make full use of his summer, he may decide that money can be better allocated elsewhere.
The move:If the Steelers move on from Harrison, old friend Elandon Roberts is just a phone call away. He filled the same role on the roster in 2023-24 that Harrison did last year, and probably did a better job of it. He also played for Patrick Graham with the Las Vegas Raiders last year.
Pittsburgh Steelers general manager Omar Khan during the 2025 NFL Draft on April 26, 2025. — Ed Thompson / Steelers Now
Khan has shown zero hesitation to pull the trigger if a big move is available to him, so don't rule out any scenario, just because it looks like the Steelers depth chart might be sufficiently stocked at that spot.
The moves:Trade for Miami linebacker Jordyn Brooks . The Dolphins aren't going anywhere, and Brooks has one season remaining on his contract. He was an All-Pro and led the NFL in tackles last season and at 28, ought to be ready to cash in one last time. Does he want to spend it playing for a moribund team that has already traded most of its best players? The Steelers could bring him in and give him a contract extension right now.
Trade for Washington Commanders defensive tackle Jer'Zhan Newton. The Commanders have significantly added to their defensive line this offseason, and Newton, who was projected as a first-round pick before following to the Commanders in the second round of the 2024 NFL Draft , might be the odd one out for playing time. With two more years on his contract, he could learn behind Cam Heyward for a year before stepping into a bigger role in Pittsburgh.
Sign former Detroit Lions tackle Taylor Decker . The Steelers seem to have a plan at tackle, with Troy Fautanu moving from right to left and Dylan Cook moving from left to right to compete with raw first-round pick Max Iheanachor at right tackle while the team waits to see when (or if) Broderick Jones will be able to join the competition. That plan requires a lot of uncertain things to go right for a team with a 42-year-old starting quarterback. They could buy down a whole bunch of that uncertainty by signing Decker, who asked for his release from the Lions.
Trade for San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk . Do the Steelers have an acute need at the position as they did two summers ago? Not at all. Has Aiyuk demonstrated very clearly that signing him to that contract was a mistake by the 49ers? Absolutely. But hey, maybe he can e
This article originally appeared on Steelers Now : Where Could Steelers Add to Roster Before Training Camp?
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