NFL.com gave the Pittsburgh Steelers a B for their offseason, and Matt Okada pointed to Mike McCarthy, Michael Pittman Jr. and Jamel Dean as the moves that stood out most. That leaves Pittsburgh with a respectable grade, but one old problem still sits at the center of the roster: quarterback play.
Matt Okada’s B grade
Okada’s review came as the offseason nears its end, with grading season being used to measure how much teams improved before September arrives. Pittsburgh landed third in the AFC North behind the Cleveland Browns at A-minus and the Cincinnati Bengals at B-plus, while the Baltimore Ravens got a B-minus and the Jacksonville Jaguars were assigned an F, with the Tennessee Titans taking the only A-plus.
His evaluation was not built around one move. It was built around a roster-wide push that included hiring Mike McCarthy, trading for Michael Pittman Jr., signing RB Rico Dowdle and drafting OT Max Iheanachor and WR Germie Bernard to reinforce the offense. Pittsburgh also added CB Jamel Dean and safeties Darnell Savage and Jaquan Brisker, giving the secondary a different look before the season starts.
Rodgers and the offense
The offense still comes back to Aaron Rodgers, and that is where the review turns sharper. In 2025, he posted a 6.0 ANY/A, just under the league average of 6.1, a line that fits Okada’s point that Rodgers is likely to be, at best, an average quarterback in 2026 as well. A team can add pieces around him, but the passing game remains the part that decides whether the offseason work turns into real gains.
Okada also floated the idea that hiring McCarthy could help lure Rodgers back to the Steelers. That keeps the quarterback discussion attached to the coaching move, and it makes the next stretch simple for Pittsburgh: the roster around Rodgers is better, but the final ceiling still depends on whether he can do more than get the team to the Wild Card Round.
Steelers’ secondary upgrade
Dean was one of the names Okada singled out because the secondary was part of the offseason plan, not an afterthought. The additions of Savage and Brisker support that same push, while the inside linebacker group stayed the same and will lean on new defensive coordinator Patrick Graham and a better d-line to bring out the best in that unit. Pittsburgh used the offseason to spread help across the roster instead of banking on one fix.
Terry Bradshaw Still Has No. 12 Retired By Pittsburgh Steelers sits in the background of this roster discussion, but the present question is more immediate. The Steelers can point to a B grade and a list of upgrades, yet the season will still hinge on whether Rodgers has enough left to change the result that has stopped them for nine years.
