PALM BEACH, Fla. — Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin mentioned in his season-ending press conference in January that he felt like the team had an issue with soft tissue injuries, and conversations on how to make corrections to that issue already begun.

Tomlin confirmed at the NFL owners meetings last week that the Steelers have been focused and working hard this offseason to figure out a solution to preventing soft tissue injuries.

“That’s ongoing. The proof is in the pudding as we begin to train and prepare our group, and the results will speak for themselves, but certainly we’ve been focused and working hard in that area,” Tomlin said.

A Steelers Now study in early December showed that by then, the Steelers already had a massive year-over-year increase in soft tissue injuries. The Steelers ended the season with 57 man-games lost from expected contributors to soft tissue injuries. They had just 23 man-games lost to such injuries in 2023.

The big jump in soft tissue injuries comes after Tomlin made a big change to his strength and conditioning staff last offseason, parting with 23-year veteran Marcel Pastoor and his entire staff, and bringing in a new crop of coaches led by Greenville, Pa., native Phil Matusz, who came to the Steelers from Boston College.

“I just thought it was time,” Tomlin said at the NFL owners meetings in March of 2024. “I just thought we got so many talented young big people. I wanted to put some fresh expertise into their growth and development. As an organization, you know, we own the development of our young players. And so, I’m just really excited. The acquisition of young talented players like Broderick (Jones) or Keeanu Benton is just a component of it. Their growth and development over the course of a 12-month calendar is equally as important as their talent. And so, I’m excited about the moves that we made there and in the fresh vision that we’re going to have in terms of some of our player development.”