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6 players who did not live up to Steelers’ expectations in 2024 season

Posted on by newssite

Some of the most notable players on the team proved disappointing in 2024.

The Pittsburgh Steelers saw their season come to a bitter end after getting humiliated by the Baltimore Ravens in the Wild Card round of the NFL Playoffs. Realistically though, this team never stood a chance.

Mike Tomlin’s squad had the wind taken out of their sails early in December and never came close to resembling a playoff team late in the 2024 season. As a result, the Steelers’ head coach is under fire for his team’s monumental collapse and fans are eager for change.

While subpar coaching deserves the lion’s share of the blame for another disastrous meltdown, we can’t pin everything on Tomlin and his staff. Here are six players who didn’t live up to lofty expectations for the 2024 season.

1. Minkah Fitzpatrick, Safety

It’s time we have a painful conversation about Minkah Fitzpatrick. There was a time I—like many of you reading—viewed Fitzpatrick as one of the top (if not the top) safeties in the game. But those days appear to be behind him.

After an injury-plagued season in 2023, we were hoping Minkah’s impact would be much greater in 2024. It wasn’t. Yes, the free safety’s presence threatened quarterbacks at times, but his 17-game season was void of nearly any splash plays. Fitzpatrick now has just one interception since 2022 and he allowed a 127.6 passer rating in 2024.

This once perennial All-Pro defender looked like an ‘Average Joe’ in 2024, and the secondary suffered due to his lack of big plays this past season.

2. Russell Wilson, Quarterback

When Russell Wilson first took the stage from Justin Fields after dealing with a calf injury, the veteran quarterback blew early expectations out of the water. That’s when the league hit Wilson with a harsh reality check.

As soon as the veteran quarterback faced stiff competition, he crumbled under the pressure—looking like the quarterback the Broncos paid to go away. Over his final six games (including the playoffs) Wilson led his team to a 1-5 record while throwing for just 187 yards per game and managing just 6.3 yards per attempt.

Wilson was unable to go toe-to-toe with good quarterbacks or produce a functioning offense against playoff teams. His performance proved devastating to the Steelers’ chances of competing in the postseason.

3. Patrick Queen, Linebacker

When you sign a 24-year-old Pro Bowl linebacker and make him a top-five highest-paid player at his position in the NFL, you expect this to be accompanied by a certain level of consistency and impact on the defense. Sadly, Queen’s first year with the Pittsburgh Steelers was a rollercoaster ride.

At times, Queen was all over the field, stopping ball carriers in their tracks (like in his first revenge game against the Ravens in Pittsburgh). Too often, however, Queen over-pursed, took bad angles, and missed routine tackles.

This led to him earning a lower PFF grade on the season than fellow Steelers linebackers Elandon Roberts and rookie Payton Wilson. Queen wasn’t horrible, but it’s really hard to argue he was worth his price tag in 2024.

4. George Pickens, Wide receiver

It’s hard to come away from the 2024 season and be optimistic about George Pickens. Locker room antics and questionable media responses aside, Pickens took a step back on the field this season.

Like Queen, Pickens had his moments when he looked unstoppable. But most of the time, he struggled to create space as a route runner and he was often inconsistent at the catch point this year. The most incriminating mark against Pickens was his evident lack of effort at times (like during the Cowboys game on Sunday Night Football).

Pickens has once again proved to the team why he can’t be relied upon from game to game, and he didn’t show the growth or maturity fans hoped to see from him in 2024.

5. Joey Porter Jr., Cornerback

After a promising rookie campaign in 2023, we expected Joey Porter Jr. to tighten up the clamps and fix some technical issues. Instead, Porter’s play looked sloppier in 2024. The young cornerback was grabby to the point where it didn’t feel like he trusted himself in coverage.

As a result, Porter was tagged with a whopping 17 penalties in 18 games, counting the playoffs (five of which were declined by the opposing offense). Because of some downright ugly performances, Porter surrendered over 600 receiving yards in coverage, and chipping in just one interception on 646 coverage snaps is less than ideal.

We don’t expect Porter to be a cornerback who takes the ball away frequently, but we expected improvement in his second season. We didn’t get it.

6. T.J. Watt, Edge rusher

The only reason T.J. Watt is on this list is because expectations are so high for the Steelers’ superstar. The 2021 Defensive Player of the Year was chasing his second DPOY award, but at the end of the day, Watt had too many quiet games where it felt like he made a minimal impact.

We can blame his high chip rate or an uncreative defensive coordinator who refused to move him around or put him in favorable situations. Still, Watt’s performance as a pass rusher in 2024 left some to be desired, and he didn’t live up to sky-high expectations this past season.

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