The Pittsburgh Steelers had an active offseason, making some franchise-altering moves. Long-time head coach Mike Tomlin decided to step down. Meaning the team will have a new face leading its sideline for the first time in 19 years, with veteran coach Mike McCarthy replacing Tomlin.

With McCarthy at the helm, the hope is that the offense can leap from where it’s been the past couple of seasons. With Aaron Rodgers at the helm, the team averaged 23.4 points per game and 305.6 yards per game, ranking 15th and 25th in the league. Rodgers will come back for the 2026 season, but no contract has been signed yet.

For the defense, it’s still the team’s strength. It’s expected with Tomlin at the helm, but it’ll be interesting to see how it changes in 2026. The unit ranked in the middle of the pack across most defensive statistical rankings, but had one of the worst pass defenses, allowing 243.9 yards per game, ranking 29th in the league.

Pittsburgh made quality additions during the offseason to help bolster the offensive talent.

The team brought in Rico Dowdle, Michael Pittman, Germie Bernard, Eli Heidenreich, Max Iheanachor and Gennings Dunker. It’ll be a new look offense with McCarthy calling the plays, and with Rodgers leading it, the upside is there.

Defensively, the team didn’t add anyone major, but added quality talent in Jaquan Brisker, Jamel Dean and Darnell Savage, adding depth within the secondary.

The Steelers’ cap space sits at $10.6 million, ranking 24th in the NFL, with the majority of it allocated to T.J. Watt and D.K. Metcalf.

The reality is the Steelers couldn’t keep everyone in free agency, losing Kenneth Gainwell, Calvin Austin III, Jonnu Smith, Isaac Seumalo, James Pierre, Kyle Dugger and Chuck Clark: no major losses, but players who contributed to some capacity in 2025.

Now, as the team enters 2026, with the offseason all but over, there are still questions looming over Pittsburgh.

What’s the plan after Aaron Rodgers?

The harsh truth is Rodgers isn’t the same player he once was. He can still push the ball down the field and is accurate. When it comes to pressure, he struggles in the pocket. He doesn’t have the athleticism to combat it as effectively as he once did. He ranked 27th in the NFL in deep pass percentage at 8.2 percent. His air yards per attempt ranked 33rd in the league at 5.9 yards in the air, meaning he relied on shorter throws to keep the chains moving.

The Steelers have addressed the quarterback positions in the past two drafts, selecting Will Howard and Drew Allar. The reality is that neither of those names seems like a long-term option at the moment. Howard had a quality run in Ohio State’s National Championship run in the 2024-25 season, but hasn’t gotten his full shot in the NFL yet. For Allar, he’s more of a project at quaterback, he has all the tools, but it’s unclear if he can be the long-term option.

The front office can roll the dice, hoping McCarthy can develop one of the two, and if this is Rodgers’s last season, either of them can become the long-term option. If not, it’s hard enough in the NFL to find a quaterback. It may bite the Steelers in the immediate future for putting all their faith in Rodgers being their quaterback for 2026.

How will the defense fare without Tomlin leading it?

The Steelers defense wasn’t the dominant force we were used to seeing in 2025. With Tomlin gone, can it return to that form? McCarthy hired former Las Vegas Raiders defensive coordinator Patrick Graham, who will keep the same 3-4 base and the heavy Cover 3 scheme Tomlin ran.

Graham will inherit a much more talented defense than the one he had to work with in Las Vegas. Even with the limited talent Graham had, the Raiders ranked 14th in pass yards given up last season and 11th in yards per play allowed with five.

The defense is in good hands with Graham, who has the experience to lead a unit like this. He has the necessary depth at every position to mix in different looks for every offense.

The talent remains with Watt, Cameron Heyward, Patrick Queen and Jalan Ramsey; it’s just about executing at a high level.

Can the offense leap with McCarthy?

The hope is McCarthy can boost the offense to a level Steelers fans haven’t seen in the past couple of seasons. There isn’t an excuse for what the Steelers have done in the offseason. They made quality additions throughout the receiver room, getting the necessary depth opposite of Metcalf.

The tight end room has depth throughout in Darnell Washington, Pat Freiermuth and JJ Galbreath. Running backs got more exposure this offseason with Dowdle and Heidenreich. The offensive line got more depth with the addition of Iheanachor and Dunker.

Along the left side of the offensive line, questions remain, even with the added depth. Broderick Jones hasn’t been what the Steelers anticipated, and the team lost Seumolo in the offseason. Iheanachor could start at right tackle, with Troy Fautanu moving to left tackle to solidify the tackle position. In terms of the left guard position, Spencer Anderson is the projected starter, but Dunker can transition from tackle to guard to start if needed. The goal is to get the best five guys out there, and with the additions the Steelers made in the draft, that’s certainly possible.

Add Rodgers on top of all of that, and it has the makings of an efficient offense. At McCarthy’s last stop, the Dallas Cowboys ranked 11th in EPA/Play and 10th in success rate. For comparison, in 2025, the Steelers ranked 16th in EPA/Play and 16th in success rate.

The offense, on paper, should take the leap Pittsburgh is hoping for in 2026. Like the defense, it’ll come down to execution, but from a talent standpoint, there are no excuses or holes on the offensive side of the ball.