5 Players the Steelers Must Re-sign

Story by Yinzer Crazy Contributor Jayson Erwin. Follow him on Twitter @jaysonerwin2002

The NFL is all fun and games until you realize there is a business side to it and your favorite players could very well be on a different team the next year. The Steelers lost some great players prior to the start of last year, such as Bud Dupree, Mike Hilton, & James Conner. It's not a good feeling, but it comes with the territory. The Steelers have 31 players with contracts up in the near future, and some big names that have to make fans a little nervous in hopes they get resigned. We're going to take a look at 5 players the Steelers hand out the cash to.

DISCLAIMER: I'm not saying the players who aren't listed aren't deserving of a new contract, this is just who the Steelers should put their main focus on when the time comes.

#5 Cameron Sutton, CB

This 3rd round pick out of the 2017 draft has been getting better as his career progresses. He may have had a slow start, but he has progressed in his defined role in the Steelers defense. Whether starter or not, Sutton has proven to be a reliable corner. His stats actually resemble Minkah Fitzpatrick's. If he could grow more consistent as the Steelers defense evolves with the addition of Brian Flores as the senior defensive assistant, Sutton could fit in well with a new contract.

#4 Chris Boswell, K

For some, it may not seem too important to resign a kicker, but for a kicker as accurate and clutch as Boswell has been since joining the Black & Gold, it should be up there on the to-do list. Chris Boswell achieved a career-high 36 field goals last year, and broke the record for the longest field goal in Heinz Field with a 56-yard strike. And even in the 2020 season, he made a career-long and Steelers franchise longest field goal, a 59-yard dagger in Dallas. Boswell had a rough 2018 season though, which made it all the more impressive how he had a rebound year in 2019, with only 2 missed field goals, compared to his 7 from 2018, and had a perfect 100% on extra points. In 2017, he kicked 3 game-winning field goals and even became a pro bowl kicker that year for the AFC. In 2016, he single-handedly (or in this case leg-edly) knocked out the Chiefs in the divisional round by being the only player who scored points that game with 6 field goals and winning 18-16. Finally, in 2015, he broke a good amount of Steeler/NFL rookie records and even won AFC Special Teams Player of the Month in December. His whole career he's only gotten better and has proven he deserves to be here for 2023.

#3 Stephon Tuitt, DE

Stephon Tuitt is one of the most underrated cornerstones of this defense. Everyone talks about TJ Watt and Cameron Heyward, but Tuitt has been a backbone of the defense and showed out in the 2020 season when he recorded 11 sacks, and 10 tackles for loss. With a struggling Steelers run defense, it would be smart to bring in Tuitt for a few more years. Though he took the year off for personal reasons in 2021, Tuitt should be fresh to reenter the gridiron, and hopefully sign a new deal in The Steel City.