Player: DT Keeanu Benton
Stock Value: Up
Reasoning: According to reports, Keeanu Benton is set to sign a four-year, $72 million contract extension tying him up through 2030. For months, beat writers have speculated that he would be the odd man out on the contract front. After the Steelers’ first preseason game, though, they ponied up to keep him around as part of their future.
Keeanu Benton is part of the Steelers’ future. That is no longer a matter for debate, at least once he formally signs his contract. Reports are that he has agreed to a four-year, $72 million contract extension. With an $18 million new-money average, it’s not the top of the market, but it shows respect for his services at a position of considerable importance.
Even though he is coming off his best season, Benton has been the subject of speculation about a reduced role. And he isn’t the only player to have now signed an extension while facing similar speculation. Despite his new deal, TE Darnell Washington, many believe, will lose ground in the passing game. At least as a receiving option, though that’s actually more plausible given the increased focus on wide receivers. And, you know, the actual wide receiver talent to go along with it, but I’m digressing at this point.
In Benton’s case, the emergence of second-year Yahya Black has been his perceived imminent threat. And, indeed, Black has been playing meaningful snaps as the nose tackle with the first-team defense. But at the same time, Benton is entering an expanded role himself. No longer shackled to the nose tackle position, he is also logging snaps on the outside of the defensive line.
That seems to be a precursor for perhaps the long-term future—the post-Cam Heyward future. By 2028, perhaps, we may have a Steelers starting defensive line consisting, from left to right, of Keeanu Benton, Yahya Black, and Derrick Harmon. But we’re a little too far out for that right now. For now, we just know they have five years to figure out what to do with him.
With the 2026 training camp here and many moves made, we have stock to take. Already promising a year of change, the Steelers have shaken things up. That is unavoidable, of course, when you gut the coaching staff. Mike Tomlin’s resignation has fundamentally changed this football team, including the players on the roster.
After a long season, the Steelers showed the ability to win the division and make the playoffs. But they also showed that their progress was minimal, since they made it no further. Two years in a row, with two different quarterbacks, they went 10-7 and lost in the Wild Card Round. The only differences are that they ended the season on a higher note and won the AFC North. But it didn’t help.