You at least have to give the Steelers an A for effort for what they've done this offseason even if you don't necessarily like all of the moves.
The Steelers signed their seventh veteran free agent from another team Wednesday, adding wide receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey with a one-year minimum salary deal.
I said throughout the season the Steelers wouldn't be cash-strapped this offseason and that has proven to be the case, as the team has gone outside its character and added some pieces in free agency. For a team that has usually sat on its hands in the corner of the room while everyone else went crazy, it's a change.
But in reality, the Steelers have continued to be conscious of the big picture, not overspending for any player, even some of their own.
The team wanted to keep Al Woods and Jerricho Cotchery. But once the bidding got too high for both of those players, the Steelers allowed them to walk, signing Cam Thomas and Lance Moore to the deals they had been offering Woods and Cotchery.
Are they upgrades? We don't know at this point. But had they signed Woods and Cotchery to the money they got from Tennessee and Carolina, respectively, the Steelers could have been out of the market completely and missed on adding any of the other five players they have signed.
And that is where the Steelers have bettered themselves this offseason.
In previous years, because the salary cap was stagnant the past few years, the Steelers were only able to replace aging stars and free agent losses with rookies. They opened the 2013 season with 20 new faces on the roster, most of them young, unproven players.
This year, they are replacing veteran free agent losses with veterans. That should make a difference in 2014.
@ The Steelers hosted Michigan State corner Darqueze Dennard and Notre Dame defensive lineman Stephon Tuitt.
Denard has been linked often with the Steelers and the 15th pick in the upcoming draft. The Steelers like him a lot.
Tuitt, meanwhile, was considered a first-round pick heading into this season, but a foot injury has limited him from doing much in pre-draft workouts. He could fall to the second round, where the Steelers would likely love to get him just as they did when tight end Heath Miller fell to them in 2005 when he couldn't work out in the offseason due to a sports hernia issue.
7 comments:
1 – ILB R. C.J. Mosley, Alabama
2 – WR, J. Matthews, Vanderbilt
3 – CB K. McGill, Utah*
3 – OT B. Turner, North Dakota State
4 – DE B. Urban, UVA
5 – CB W. Aikens, Liberty
5 – OLB/DE Prince Shiembo, Notre Dame
6 – WR J. Brown, Pittsburgh State
6 – OLB L. Webster, Bloomsburg
6 – TE C. Gilmore, Colorado State*
7 – NT R. Carrethers, Arkansas State
(Steelers pick up extra 3rd & 6th rd picks for trade down in 1st round)
I like what the Steelers have done this off season. There have been some comments regarding missing on draft picks or the inability to resign some of their own players. While there may be some truth to that, it doesn’t matter, water under the bridge. The Steelers are making an effort to plug the holes with low cost players. I like that better than doing nothing. The knock on Bey has been “hands of stone” and if the Steelers couldn’t fix Sweed, I’m not sure how much luck they’ll have with Bey. But he’ll probably be the 4th or 5th receiver, so there’s not much risk if he doesn’t pan out. If some of these free agents do work out, it may be enough to get the Steelers back to the playoffs, so I commend the front office for making an effort.
@datruth4life
I give you credit for going all 7 rounds. However, most of the so called experts can't even get the first round right, so it will take some luck and agreement by the Steelers to get your picks.
DHB had zero excuses for not putting up numbers in Indy last year, so I'm not expecting anything from him.
I would have preferred Sidney Rice, at least he's a good player for the six or so games a year he isn't hurt.
I still don't get why they didn't restructure Timmons. They could have either afforded Cotchery and Woods, or signed an actual impact player like Alterraun Verner.
Restructuring players creates problems later. Do you want Timmons taking up 15 million of your cap?
Constant restructuring is why our cap has been messed up for years. See Woodley, Ike and Heath Miller.
Not to mention Verner is a Cover 2 guy and small. So not really a fit for what we're looking for in a CB for our defense.
Sidney Rice has had one good season in his career - 5 years ago.
There's a reason why nobody has signed him yet. He's likely asking too much money for the injury risk he provides.
Heyward-Bey was a low-cost depth signing. If it works out, great. If not, nothing lost.
And Verner absolutely didn't fit the scheme. That "interest" in him by the Steelers was all agent talk.
Verner was such a stud corner, the team he was with didn't want to keep him. If he were truly a stud, don't you think Tennessee would have wanted to retain his services?
Maybe he wanted more than anything to play for his hometown team.
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