After reinforcing the offensive line by adding Nate Herbig to the fold, the Steelers also addressed two critical areas of the defense on the second day NFL's unofficial start to free agency.
The Steelers are bringing Damontae Kazee back to Pittsburgh on a two-year deal. The financial terms are not yet known, and the team has yet to confirm the deal. In addition, the Steelers are re-signing Larry Ogunjobi to a three-year, $28.75-million contract. The deal will pay him $21.75 million over the first two years.
The Steelers announced the Ogunjobi signing on Friday.
Kazee, 29, is coming off a season in which he played under a one-year, $1,187,500 contract with the Steelers. After serving a five-game suspension and recovering from a preseason forearm fracture, Kazee made an immediate impact in the back end of the Steelers' defense. As part of a three-safety tandem alongside Minkah Fitzpatrick and Terrell Edmunds, Kazee recorded two interceptions and and two passes defended in only nine games.
Bringing Kazee back not only provides continuity in the secondary, but fills a need at safety. More important, Kazee's return reinforces the Steelers' not-so-secret priority of taking the ball away. Kazee led the NFL with seven interceptions as a member of the Falcons in 2018, and he already has 14 in his six-year career.
Ogunjobi, 28, signed a one-year, $8-million contract with the Steelers last offseason after a three-year, $45-million agreement with the Bears fell through due to a failed physical. Ogunjobi helped improve the overall play up front as the Steelers shot from dead last in the NFL against the run in 2021 to a ninth-place finish in 2022.
Ogunjobi did struggle throughout the 2022 season with health issues as he battled through numerous injuries, and it's undeniable that those injuries impacted his on-field performance. However, he's still a solid enough player and run defender to warrant the price tag to keep him. The Steelers can't afford to get worse at defending the run, especially after finishing in the top 10 in 2022. Ogunjobi really helps keep everything intact. Now, it's about adding depth, and possibly more talent in the draft.
NFL free agency officially begins Wednesday at 4:00 p.m., meaning unrestricted free agents cannot put pen to paper on deals to which they've agreed until that time. Kazee and Ogunjobi can be signed prior to then because they were members of the Steelers last season.
While the Steelers certainly are in a good spot with retaining Ogunjobi and Kazee, the inside linebacker position took a hit with Robert Spillane agreeing to a reported two-year, $9-million contract with the Raiders. Off-ball linebacker has to be addressed at some point this offseason, and Spillane was a safety net, of sorts, as a depth option.
