Player: RB Kenneth Gainwell
Stock Value: Up
Reasoning: Kenneth Gainwell continues his breakout season with the Steelers and continues to look like a bargain as a free agent. Signed to a one-year, $1.79 million contract, he is earning not much more than minimum salary. Given his play this season, the Steelers giving him a much more robust contract is a foregone conclusion.
Kenneth Gainwell never recorded a 100-yard game in the regular season during his four years with the Eagles. He has done it five times now with the Steelers, and in a variety of ways. Twice, he has gained at least half of his yardage as a receiver rather than a runner. Yet he has not one 100-yard game either as just a runner or receiver, tapping out at 99 rushing yards.
With two games left in the season, Gainwell has already surpassed nearly all of his career marks. He has new career highs in rushing attempts and rushing yards, as well as rushing average. He has more receptions for more yards and more touchdowns than ever before, and more total touchdowns. Basically the only mark he is still missing is rushing touchdowns, currently one off his career-high mark of five. But he has seven total touchdowns, one more than he has had in any season.
With 911 yards from scrimmage, Kenneth Gainwell is likely to eclipse the 1,000-yard mark for the first time. Jaylen Warren has already done so for the Steelers, so Gainwell could give them two 1,000-yard backs. As a runner, he has 501 yards on 102 carries with 4 touchdowns. As a receiver, he has 410 yards on 62 receptions with 3 touchdowns.
The praise for Kenneth Gainwell started long before the season began. Coaches, and especially beat writers who spoke to coaches, raved about him and spoke of him as basically the hidden gem of the Steelers’ free agent class. Hindsight has clearly looked favorably upon that view. Outside of a pair of fumbles (though he’s also forced one on special teams), there is little to criticize in his total body of work in the Black and Gold. And I didn’t even mention the ridiculous touchdown catch he had in Detroit.
With regular season underway and the roster in place, it’s once again time to “take stock”. It took a while, but we finally saw some of that change the team talked about after the season ended. Certainly, the move to trade for WR DK Metcalf qualifies as a change, not to mention the accompanying contract. Oh, and they also traded some guy named George Pickens, which people found significant.
After a long offseason, we finally know what this Steelers team will look like for the 2025 season. The dust is long settled on both free agency and the 2025 NFL Draft, and now we’re into the real thing. What final moves might the team make, if any? They’ve certainly made a flurry of moves, though some question whether they make much difference. This is a Steelers team starving for postseason success, but how desperate are they for a playoff win in 2025?
