The Steelers hired Mike McCarthy largely because they believed he gave them\u2014and their roster\u2014the best chance of winning. Owner Art Rooney II has made very clear that he has no intention of blowing up the team and starting over. That provides what may be a very major hint about what the Steelers want their roster to look like in 2026.<\/p>\n
After all, the Steelers made major roster moves just last year and weren\u2019t looking for sweeping changes this offseason. Mike Tomlin\u2019s resignation caught them off-guard and forced them to pivot. This is still the roster built by Steelers GM Omar Khan and assistant Andy Weidl. Is this, roughly, the one they want to bring into next season?<\/p>\n
\u201cHe knows how to bring along a veteran team, and we do have a veteran team\u201d, Rooney said<\/a> of McCarthy, calling him, by consequence, a \u201cgood fit\u201d for the Steelers\u2019 roster. They had one of the oldest rosters in the NFL last season<\/a>, though Aaron Rodgers skewed that.<\/p>\n Absent a brief cameo by Philip Rivers, Rodgers was the oldest player in the NFL last year. Later on, the Steelers got older, adding the NFL\u2019s oldest wide receiver to their roster in Adam Thielen. Thielen has already retired\u2014perhaps temporarily\u2014and Rodgers may do so as well.<\/p>\n But the Steelers still have plenty of old goats on the roster. Cam Heyward will be 37 this year, Chris Boswell 35. T.J. Watt will turn 32 in October, as will Jalen Ramsey. Of course, some think they should trade Watt<\/a> and release Ramsey.<\/p>\n So does the Steelers hiring Mike McCarthy mean they want to try to keep this roster intact? They went in big\u2014as far as they go\u2014last season, and it didn\u2019t work out. While they\u2019ll have to make some changes, they may not be as radical as some hope<\/a>.<\/p>\n