I came to a sudden and stunning realization today that the Pittsburgh Steelers not only are not the only team in the league, but they’re also not the only team with players, and players who have contracts, some of which are expiring. Some of those players with expiring contracts are even expiring, and for some players on some teams, it may even be difficult for them to work out a new deal.
Take the defending AFC champions, the Cincinnati Bengals. They won their first playoff games in three decades, advancing all the way to the Super Bowl. While they came up short, they showed themselves to be contenders, perhaps for many years to come.