Greene came to Pittsburgh in free agency because of Defensive Coordinator Dom Caper's 3-4 system. He didn't come cheap. He was the highest-paid Steelers defender ever at the time. Greene was only in Pittsburgh for three seasons, but in those 48 games, he earned 35.5 sacks, two Pro Bowls, and an All-Pro season in 1994. He played in two AFC Championship games for Pittsburgh and one Super Bowl.
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Hartwig was the NFL's highest-paid center in Carolina, but injuries caused the Panthers to draft his replacement. Hartwig also received an offer from Kansas City, his hometown team, but after meeting with Mike Tomlin, his agent convinced him to sign with Pittsburgh. Hartwig started all 32 games during his two years with the Steelers, plus Super Bowl XLIII.
After two seasons, Washington cut Clark but was willing to bring him back on a smaller, minimum contract. R.C. felt disrespected, so he chose to test the market. Pittsburgh was his only offer. Clark went on to play in 80 games, starting 78, and made three Super Bowl appearances.
After 13 seasons in Pittsburgh, Gary Anderson left for Philadelphia when the Steelers offered him a contract he couldn't accept. Pittsburgh came to camp with kicker Dean Biasucci, but he was struggling. Johnson happened to be available. Despite making 90 percent of his kicks in Atlanta, he had been replaced by Morten Andersen. Johnson's special teams coach in Atlanta, Bobby April, was now in Pittsburgh. Johnson went on to lead the league in field goals in 1995. He played in 63 games over four seasons, including Super Bowl XXX.
Fitzpatrick wasn't happy with how he was being used in Miami, so he requested a trade. Despite losing Ben Roethlisberger for the season hours earlier, Pittsburgh made the deal. With the Steelers, Fitzpatrick has acquired five Pro Bowl seasons and three All-Pro campaigns.
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San Francisco had been trying to shop McDonald earlier in the spring. It was apparent to them that George Kittle had starting potential. Pittsburgh was a buyer because the previous year's addition, Ladarius Green, failed. McDonald spent four years in Pittsburgh, playing in 53 games, starting 47 of them, plus two playoff games.
Minnesota was willing to give up a third-round pick to move up 15 spots in the second. They had their eye on tight end Jim Kleinsasser. Pittsburgh's eventual second-round pick, Scott Shields, only made two starts, but that additional third-round pick turned into 3x Pro Bowler and Super Bowl XL champion Joey Porter.
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Chase Claypool had not yet become Mapletron as once predicted. Although the Steelers could only get a third-round pick for Antonio Brown three years earlier, Pittsburgh somehow got a second-round pick from Chicago for Claypool. That pick ended up becoming current starting cornerback Joey Porter Jr.