Early Look at Steelers Best ILB Free Agent Options
The Pittsburgh Steelers enter free agency with some question marks, few bigger than inside linebacker. With both Robert Spillane and Devin Bush entering free agency and Myles Jack carrying an inflated $11.25 million cap hit, it's going to be interesting to see how the organization attacks the position in the coming months.
While the incoming NFL Draft class leaves a bit to be desired, the current free agent crop is actually very intriguing. Several of these players could potentially make sense for the Steelers. Names could change based on re-signings and early releases prior to the new year but here are a couple of potential targets to get familiar with.
David Long Jr.
Long was a sixth-round pick back in 2019, taken 178 selections after the Steelers traded up to get Devin Bush.
Bush's career never really took flight in Pittsburgh while Long has turned himself into one of the more productive off-ball linebackers in the league over the past two seasons. Long is undersized but a fluid athlete who excels when playing the run, posting a 10.2% stop rate, tied for seventh in the NFL, according to PFF.
The lone knock on Long? He has had some trouble staying healthy, playing just 22 games over the past two seasons.
The durability questions make his market a bit murky, but when he's been on the field, he's been one of the more impactful guys at his position.
A pre-draft visitor when coming out of West Virginia in 2019, he would be a pretty noticeable upgrade over what the Steelers have put on the field in recent years.
Azeez Al-Shaair
Don't be fooled by his relatively low snap percentage, Al-Shaair might be one of the league's best-kept secrets.
This past season, he's played third fiddle in San Francisco behind both Fred Warner and Dre Greenlaw, arguably the best linebacker duo in the game. Al-Shaair is another undersized but smart backer with excellent closing speed to pair with a red-hot motor.
Al-Shaair had a breakout 2021 campaign with Greenlaw on the sidelines, but when he returned to the lineup this season, he saw his playing time reduced. Again, it's hard to call that a red flag considering how insanely talented the guys ahead of him were.
He'll be just 26 years of age next season, and It's very possible that we haven't seen his best ball yet, making him one of my favorite free agent finds in this class regardless of position.
Quincy Williams
Quinnen Williams is the established leader of an impressive Jets defense but his younger brother, Quincy Williams made himself some money last year.
Quincy only knows how to play one way, fast, and with violence. Some of the hits he put on film last year are enough to give you flashbacks to late 2000s Steelers-Ravens matchups. The Jets were able to use his downhill, attacking nature to their advantage as a pass rusher as well, as he registered four sacks and 12 pressures despite only 29 opportunities.
He's a missile, and that play style is certainly something that Steelers fans would be quick to accept, especially the first time that he laid out a ball carrier in the backfield at Acrisure Stadium.
Williams was a pre-draft visitor with the team back in 2019 before being selected in the third round of that draft by the Jaguars. The Steelers love those NFL bloodlines, and it's hard to imagine that the Jets won't at least attempt to bring him back, but if he hits the open market, he's certainly a name to keep an eye on.
Kyzir White
A safety at West Virginia, White has made the transition to linebacker in the league and provided steady play over the course of his career, first with the Chargers and in 2022 with Philly, where he helped the Eagles reach the Super Bowl.
The Eagles are one of the better front offices in terms of team building, and White was one of their latest examples, inking him to a one-year, $3 million dollar deal. One that he vastly outplayed.
The Steelers got first-hand looks at White in each of the past two seasons, with him accumulating 11 total tackles in their Week 8 contest.
White isn't the flashiest player on this list and doesn't quite offer a ton of substantial upside but generally speaking, you know what you're getting as a player. White is a solid athlete, an instinctual backer who can be mostly relied upon in coverage which is somewhat rare in the position itself - evidenced by breaking up a career-best six passes in 2022.
White is a better coverage linebacker than Spillane, and while he might cost them a bit more to acquire, it's an investment that Pittsburgh would be wise to pursue.
Leighton Vander Esch
Tremaine Edmunds is the popular name on social media for Steelers fans, but it was actually Vander Esch that the Steelers seemed to be more closely linked to back in the 2018 draft process. "LVE" hasn't quite been the star the Cowboys imagined when they took him 19th overall as he's struggled to stay healthy for stretches in his career. But after re-signing in Dallas this past season, he played some of his best football since his ultra-productive rookie season.
Vander Esch has a throwback type of build for the position at 6-4, 256 pounds but he still moves well in space, a primary reason that Dallas trusted him so much in coverage. He has also developed into a reliable tackler, missing just 6.0% of his attempts in 2022.
Seeing him bounce back from injury over the past season plus has been awesome, and he will surely have plenty of suitors on the market if Dallas elects to let him walk.
The guaranteed money will be key here as teams will undoubtedly be concerned about the neck injuries, but he's a difference-maker when he's on the field.
Germaine Pratt
His teammate, Logan Wilson, seems to get more praise on social media but Pratt was the better linebacker in 2022.
The Bengals were able to keep him clean, especially when D.J. Reader was healthy in the middle and he made the most of his free runways, attacking downhill and punishing opposing ball carriers near the line of scrimmage. You don't have to explain his impact to the Steelers, they've felt it, most recently in their Week 11 matchup when Pratt made a whopping six stops resulting in an unsuccessful offensive play.
2022 was Pratt's best season as a pro, signaling an upward trajectory that should continue given he's been readily available over the course of his rookie deal. Cincinnati has a bunch of crucial financial decisions to make over the next couple of months, and Pratt could be the odd man out. He would immediately make the Steelers' front seven even more dangerous while also weakening the reigning AFC North champs. That's a pretty tempting equation.
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