PITTSBURGH STEELERS

4 PLAYERS WHO MUST GO IN 2019

The 2018 season was a bust, and the Pittsburgh Steelers may finally realize change in needed before their Super Bowl hopes come back to life.

2019 should feature a Steelers team without these players. Putting the blame of missing the playoffs of late-season headlines on them alone isn’t fair, but for change to be made, they need to find themselves with a new jersey next season.

It’s about quieting the noise and keeping the talent. Pittsburgh doesn’t win anything if they ditch all their stars to keep a team that doesn’t make the newspapers. They need to move on from those who have really made a burden of themselves.

It’ll be easy to find replacements for some, difficult for others and impossible for few. Nevertheless, removing all of them will better this team, even if replacing the player means the team’s “talent” has decreased over the offseason.

It’s never easy losing players, but this team doesn’t have a strong benchmark to meet in 2019. 2018 was such a laughing matter that this team is in line for a complete rebuild if nothing changes over the offseason.

2019 needs to be a rebound season, but this team is learning from its mistakes now, so it’s able to complete the rebound come August. It means removing this list of players, and maybe others, depending on who they deem fit to stay or not.

One thing is certain, though, the Steelers don’t bounce back if they don’t remove these four names from their roster before the start of the season.

ANTONIO BROWN

This one is obvious. Antonio Brown is the loudest player in football, right now, and loud teams don’t win. Pittsburgh has had enough of the receiver’s antics and are willing to move him for the right price. With plenty of teams looking to add Brown, they’ll find a suitable dealer before the draft.

It’s been a long and successful road for Brown and the Steelers. Few players were loved and adored like Brown was, but when things got bad he was the first person to make them worse. His off-the-field issues have become too much to bare as fans and coaches so this team is looking to move on.

They’ll get a healthy return for Brown, one they should be able to use to find more talent in other areas. The departure of an All-Pro receivers could be the best thing to happen to this team in years.

MARCUS GILBERT

If this team plans to bring back Ramon Foster, they should be willing to move on from Marcus Gilbert. The right tackle missed most of the 2018 season which showed that Matt Feiler is more than capable of handling himself in the starting five.

No one wants to see Gilbert leave, as he’s been a valuable part of this line as it grew into what it is today. However, with the injury issues and cost being more expensive than Feiler, keeping Gilbert around doesn’t make sense.

This could mean the Steelers are able to keep Foster and hopefully use the remaining money to bring in some outside help in the defensive backfield or at linebacker once free agency starts.

ARTIE BURNS

Artie Burns is a bust and this team realizes it. He played barely any snaps towards the end of the season, and for a former first-round pick, he’s been a giant disappointment. It’s time for this team to save some money and move on from Burns this offseason.

If they want to keep a cornerback around outside of Joe Haden and Mike Hilton it should be Coty Sensabaugh. He’s been a reliable corner opposite of Haden and will fill the backup role well once they bring in someone else this offseason.

Sensabaugh’s production just removes the need for Burns. Even as a backup, he’s not someone you want on the field and before they spend even more money on him, they should cut ties, admit a mistake and use the money to bring in someone useful.

MORGAN BURNETT

Terrell Edmunds is the starter, and even if he’s not, Morgan Burnett should not be. The 2018 signing proved very quickly he’s not a starting safety in the NFL anymore. He has a difficult time staying with receivers in coverage and was outplayed by Edmunds all season.

Even if he’s still on contract for the next season, Pittsburgh won’t lose much getting rid of their former free agent move. Fans were excited when the signing happened, but as the season progressed you realized quick that Burnett was not an upgrade from Mike Mitchell.

This team needs to get their secondary in shape, likely drafting a cornerback and signing a safety. It’d be interesting to see a player who’s still got some quality years in front of him play with Sean Davis and Edmunds. It could be the difference in how well this secondary plays in 2019.