The Steelers offensive line has been consistently top 15 in the league with solid stars such as Maurkice Pouncey, David DeCastro, and Alejandro Villanueva. However, their time is almost up. Most of these players are entering the twilight of their careers and with their contracts being close to being up we could see them hanging the cleats up or finding another team elsewhere. I expect the Steelers to find some younger and cheaper talent after the next year and after Ben Roethlisberger retires.
The player out of the three mentioned above that the Steelers will miss the most would have to be David DeCastro. Drafted out of Stanford in the first round, he has been incredibly good for this Steelers offensive line unit. The type of player who does not talk much, he lets his play do the talking here. He has made five Pro Bowls and has been a First-Team All-Pro twice and over the years he has started in 111 games. Unfortunately, the Steelers are very eager for his return on the field and would benefit having him come back on the line.
Maurkice Pouncey is a different story. I see him being on the team if Ben is. Since they are buddies of course. Pouncey has said numerous times that he would hang them up when his quarterback does, and I still expect that to happen. However, Pouncey has started to make more and more mistakes over the years, and he might be shown the door early to save money and to get a better player in his position. Until then, I enjoy watching him protect our quarterback the best he can.
As for Alejandro. I do not see him playing forever. I think this current contract he is on will be his last. He’s a tremendous story, I just don’t see him play Football for his entire life. I think he has got bigger things to do. He is a true patriot and the Steelers are very lucky to have a warrior like him in the locker room who provides different perspectives on life to the younger guys.
After these guys are gone, what will happen to the Steelers offensive line? Not sure. I still think with the young guys on the roster, we should not have to worry because these young guys definitely have some talent. They just need to keep working.