Mark Madden's Hot Take: Stephon Tuitt worth the wait, risk for Steelers

It’s tough to guess what the Pittsburgh Steelers’ offseason plan will be. Will they tear it down and start a drastic rebuild? Or do they think they can contend, and so mostly tinker and adjust?

Here’s betting the latter because that’s how the Steelers think.

That makes deciding about defensive end Stephon Tuitt that much harder.

Tuitt is a big contributor when he’s available. His absence this season badly damaged the defense. It never had a chance to be elite without him. It was a lot closer to horrible.

Tuitt, 29, is 6-foot-6, 303 pounds. His pedigree includes being selected in the second round of the NFL Draft in 2014 and making second-team All-America at Notre Dame in 2012. It seems incredible that Tuitt has never made a Pro Bowl, especially in 2020 when he had 11 sacks.

Tuitt consumes blocks and makes plays. He enables the defense to fit better. He’s a glue guy.

Tuitt missed the entire 2021 season. He was rarely even around the Steelers facility.

Tuitt was dealing with a knee injury, but probably even more so the tragic death of his younger brother in a hit-and-run accident. That occurred last June.

No complaint. You can’t put a timetable on mourning.

But the Steelers have to conduct business.

Tuitt carries a $14 million cap hit next season.

He’s very likely to be OK physically.

If Tuitt checks out mentally and emotionally, the Steelers absolutely should bring him back.

But the Steelers have to be 100% certain about that. Because if Tuitt isn’t sure, the Steelers have to make a move at that position.

The Steelers won’t get better than Tuitt at defensive end but absolutely must get better than what they had this season. The defense was gutted when Tuitt and fellow defensive lineman Tyson Alualu got injured.

Tuitt is worth the wait and worth some risk. But only a finite amount.