What's next for the Steelers after their latest playoff one-and-done failure?

Mike Tomlin did it again. He pushed an undermanned Pittsburgh Steelers team to a winning record.

Mike Tomlin did it again. His Steelers went one-and-done in an uncompetitive Wild Card loss for the fourth time in the last five seasons.

Pittsburgh couldn't keep pace with the Baltimore Ravens, falling behind 21-0 halftime in an eventual 28-14 loss -- the Steelers' fifth straight after a 10-3 start. Russell Wilson had flashes of brilliance amid a desert of mundane play, pushing Tomlin's team back to the drawing board with no easy way to clear the gap between "good" and "great."

What does Pittsburgh have going for it headed into 2025? Who could it lose? And where must changes be made to reverse the frustrating trend of playoff defeats?

1. What do the Steelers have to build around in 2025?

The Steelers still have the foundation of an elite defense intact. T.J. Watt continues to play at an All-Pro level, even if nagging injuries limited him down the stretch. Alex Highsmith is a valuable counterpunch on the other edge. Cameron Heyward returned to form and paired with Keeanu Benton to create a beef-tastic, disruptive core up front.

Joey Porter Jr. is rising toward stardom. Minkah Fitzpatrick fell off but remains on the right side of 30 years old (more about that later). George Pickens is an unpredictable force capable of devastating both opposing defenses and his own team, but he's kept that balance leaned heavily in Pittsburgh's favor.

And, of course, the Steelers have a head coach that's been around for 18 seasons and never finished below .500. Mike Tomlin continues to turn chicken crap into chicken salad despite never winning NFL coach of the year honors. Wild.

Pittsburgh will have a first round draft pick that lands around No. 20 depending on how the rest of the wild card round pans out. It has a single pick in each of the first five rounds. That's buttressed by an estimated $53 million in salary cap space for 2025, per Over the Cap — ninth-most in the NFL.

The Steelers haven't traditionally been splashy spenders on the open market. With another frustrating finish tainting management's memory and few expensive in-house free agents to retain, 2025 could present the opportunity to bring new faces to western Pennsylvania.

2. What players could leave the Steelers in 2025?

The following players played at least 50 percent of Pittsburgh's offensive or defensive snaps and will be free agents in 2025:

• LT Dan Moore Jr.

• CB Donte Jackson

• WR Van Jefferson

• QB Russell Wilson

• RB Najee Harris

Additionally, quarterback Justin Fields and tailback Jaylen Warren are also free agents.

3. Offseason priority No. 1: Quarterback

Russell Wilson looked like he'd solved the riddle that vexed Mike Tomlin from the moment Ben Roethlisberger's throwing arm turned into a tube sock filled with chorizo. Through the first 13 weeks of the season, Wilson's 0.172 expected points added (EPA) per dropback ranked ninth among all starters.

Then came December. The only quarterback worse than Wilson was the Cleveland Browns' third-stringer Dorian Thompson-Robinson.

Wilson's spiral through a five-game, season-ending losing streak likely tanked his chances of returning as a locked-in starter (or perhaps at all). Justin Fields played the most efficient football of his career but was mostly a complementary piece to the offense. Without a take-charge presence behind center, Pittsburgh will remain stuck in good-not-great purgatory.

There's no easy fix. The team's draft position makes finding a plug-and-play rookie extremely difficult. The top free agent quarterbacks are Sam Darnold and, well, Russell Wilson. There may not be a better answer than bringing back Russ on a modest deal and hoping to improve things around him.

The Steelers' pass protection wasn't great in 2024. Their 36.2 pressure rate allowed was 21st-best in the NFL. That should get better as young guys like Zach Frazier and Mason McCormick grow after useful rookie seasons, but Dan Moore's pending free agency creates an opportunity to upgrade at left tackle. Could an increasingly less mobile Wilson surge again with a line capable of buying more time in the pocket? Or was the end to his Pittsburgh debut the sign of things to come?

4. Offseason priority No. 2: Playmakers.

Pittsburgh's leading rusher currently under contract for 2025 is Cordarrelle Patterson, who turns 34 in March and had just 135 yards last season. Only one player had more than 653 receiving yards in 2024 and it was George Pickens, who as much a random event generator as WR1 talent. Pat Freiermuth is useful and Darnell Washington and Calvin Austin III could develop into reliable role players, but the Steelers need more.

That could require a very un-Steelers move. Pittsburgh has the salary cap space to take a swing at a top wideout like Tee Higgins (which would also make division rival Cincinnati weaker) or a lower cost shot at guys like Darius Slayton or Elijah Moore -- wideouts who could benefit from a change of scenery and understand the stressors of playing with below-average quarterbacks. But the most likely result is a meat-and-potatoes player in the first round of the draft before eventually finding a difference-making wideout on Day 2 (see: Diontae Johnson, JuJu Smith-Schuster, Emmanuel Sanders... Chase Claypool for a minute there).

Either way, it won't matter who the quarterback is unless he's got a supporting cast to elevate him next fall.

5. Offseason priority No. 3: Non-cornerback coverage help (and maybe some cornerback coverage help)

The Steelers blitz rate fell from 34 percent in 2023 to 25 percent this fall, in part because of a lack of trust of the team's over the top coverage. As a result, Pittsburgh's 11th-ranked sack and pressure rates fell to 18th and 16th, respectively. That doesn't seem like a big drop, but this was in the midst of Cameron Heyward returning to All-Pro form in the middle of the line.

Replacing Heyward will be a burden at some point -- maybe even this spring should he decide to retire to a media career -- but this pass rush remains talented with T.J. Watt, Alex Highsmith and Keeanu Benton (a top 20 pass rush win rate amongst all tackles!) in the lineup. The fix has to come behind them, where the team's off-ball linebackers and safeties have struggled in coverage.

Minkah Fitzpatrick is only 28 years old but while he was a Pro Bowler his play fell off in a noticeable way this fall. His 127.8 passer rating allowed in coverage doesn't tell his whole story -- it's a tricky stat to apply to safeties -- but it does help illustrate his rising struggles in coverage. DeShon Elliott was solid but his history suggests he could fall off at a moment's notice. Damontae Kazee gave up 13.0 yards per target.

These deficiencies aren't limited to defensive backs. Elandon Roberts is 30 years old and much stronger against the run than the pass. Patrick Queen gave up a 114.5 rating in coverage. By these powers combined, opponents found plenty of room to operate (Payton Wilson had some rookie mistakes but came along nicely, I'm on board with him). Patrick Mahomes wasn't sacked at all and was only hit twice on Christmas day. That gave him the latitude to do this in a 29-10 rout.

On Saturday, Lamar Jackson completed six of seven of his passes over the middle for 92 yards, one touchdown and a perfect 158.3 passer rating, somehow making Fitzpatrick's stiff-arming at the hands of Derrick Henry *not* the most embarrassing thing to happen to him in Baltimore (OK, maybe it was).

This will only get worse if Donte Jackson leaves and Fitzpatrick can't rebound. This is a problem Pittsburgh could throw cash at in free agency -- Jevon Holland isn't a perfect fit, but it would be amusing for the Steelers to poach another high-caliber safety from the Miami Dolphins -- but also feels like a position the team would rather develop through the draft.

This article originally appeared on For The Win: What's next for the Steelers after their latest playoff one-and-done failure?