Steelers Choose History Over Progress

Imagn Images, Joseph Maiorana-Imagn Images, Justin K. Aller-Getty Images

Very few teams have shown themselves to be consistently winning franchises, but even fewer use it as a crutch to build the future like the Steelers. Pittsburgh's decision to move on from Joey Porter Jr. due to a refusal to extend during the season sets a dangerous precedent for what’s to come.

Porter was not only one of the best corners in the league, but one of the few draft picks Pittsburgh has hit on over the past few years. But instead of properly paying Porter, Pittsburgh decides to do what’s handicapped their franchise for the last decade: choose long-standing tradition over modernity.

But It’s Tradition

51 years removed from their first Super Bowl, Pittsburgh, while winning five more since, hasn’t been a true contender for the Super Bowl since the decade began, if not before that. A combination of consistent winning leading to low draft selections, lack of offensive talent, and, most importantly, a team that was and is still clearly outdated.

The first reason that leads Pittsburgh to where the Porter Jr. move seems reasonable starts with the complacency that has been rampant for a decade. That complacency is even felt in the coaching this decade. Though Mike Tomlin is a great and all-time coach, in his final seasons as head coach, the defense that led them to so much success has been widely figured out and has refused to change; the same game plan that retired player Julian Edelman said on his own podcast was predictable while he was still in the league. The likely reason for the refusal to change schemes was that there was no necessity; Pittsburgh never gave Tomlin consistent pressure to win and relied on .500 seasons to be seen as relevant. Most franchises would see the writing on the wall and either innovate or move on, but that’s not the Steelers way.

Why Not Move Forward?

If you’re used to driving the same way to work every day, no matter how much traffic there is, why not try a different route? If you asked Pittsburgh, the logic would be, ‘why potentially ruin something that has worked, and you’ve done for so long’. That rationale is why this and 50 different articles and podcasts have criticized their decision-making. Being conservative feels too risky even for them.

Since the Minkah Fitzpatrick deal, which feels like a move made by an entirely different team, Pittsburgh’s front office hasn’t just leaned on the side of caution but has fully sat in that side and made a home out of it. They haven’t lost in that time, but they also haven’t won a playoff game since Obama was president.

This recent battle with Porter feels like the crossroads of this methodology, however. After struggling to get young talent through the door, they finally got some with Porter Jr. and even George Pickens; now both of them are gone due to fear that has defined this entire decade of Steelers football. That same fearful logic is gonna be the same reason this era of Pittsburgh has no shot at winning at the highest level, and given how long they’ve kept this up, 2009 might become a hieroglyph to Steelers fans.