Re-signings?

by iBleedBlack&Gold on Aug 5, 2008 6:02 AM EDT Comment 15 comments

Is anybody else worried that the Steelers aren't going to re-sign some of their key free agents-to-be at the end of this year?

The Steelers are famous for not usually working on player's contracts over the course of the season. I have heard numerous reports saying that if the Steelers don't sign some of these free agents before the start of the season, they will surely be gone next offseason.

This list includes: Charlie Batch;unrestricted, Carey Davis;restricted, Willie Colon;restricted (doesn't seem right but he's on the list I found), Max Starks;restricted(?), Marvel Smith;unrestricted, James Farrior;unrestricted, Bryant McFadden;unrestricted, Anthony Smith;restricted.

*Note: There are a few more guys but I mainly went with our key players. I am going to go in-depth on each of these player's with my own opinion of how it should be handled. If you have no interest in these matters I will save you 5-10 minutes of your life and warn you not to read my post. : )

-Will the Steelers resign Batch for a one or two-year deal if we don't like the quality of play from Rookie 5th-Round draft pick QB Dennis Dixon? We do need a backup plan if our $100 million man breaks down...I say bring Batch back if Dixon still looks lost.

-If Carey Davis has another subpar year will Tomlin finally let go of one of "his guys" that he brought in here? I personally believe we can find a better option elsewhere, or even from within (Russell?). But, I do realize that it was Davis' first year in our offense and with the team. So I will cut him some slack, BUT if I see the type of blocking that would insult Dan Kreider and make him cringe in disgust, then I will not be so merciful this offseason.

-Does Willie Colon being a restricted FA make all the difference in whether or not we bring him back? If Max Starks beats him out this camp for the starting RT spot, can Colon bounce back and be either a starting Guard or a reliable backup at both G and T? "Position Flexibility" may help Willie Colon be a wanted piece of the Steelers O-Line for many years to come.

-I'm not sure if this Transition Tag that was placed on T Max Starks makes him an unrestricted or restricted FA this upcoming offseason, however I'm not sure if it makes a big difference. We are already paying him $7 million essentially to be a backup at this point. He has been reportedly seeing very limited time with the first team O-Line, which worries me. If he does somehow crack that starting 5, and manages to keep his job this time throughout the whole season, then his stock will rise in the offseason. Meaning, if he is an URFA then a team with plenty of cap space will surely sign him to a lucrative deal. Of course this is assuming that Starks has a productive year for the Steelers. If he does not, well...I'm not sure what will happen to the guy. Should be an interesting thing to watch as the season unfolds.

-If Marvel's new back can hold up for an entire problem-free season then he deserves to be resigned to a large deal. Problem is, we don't know that his back WILL hold up. We have already been regretting that large sum of money we gave Kendall Simmons a few years ago after he had consecutive productive, injury free seasons. So my question is, do we resign Marvel Smith to a multi-year deal?

-With the emergence of Lawrence Timmons and the resurgence of Larry Foote, is the resigning of James Farrior really a must? Although, he has hinted he would take a pay cut in order to stay with the Steelers. This shows that Farrior understands the time for him to step aside will one day be here soon. I would like to see him stay, what do we think of resigning James Farrior?

-As the year's begin to catch on to Deshea Townsend, Bryant McFadden has been patiently wating for his opportunity to take the starting 2nd CB job away from Deshea. McFadden undoubtedly has promise and has shown it along the way to our Super Bowl run, and the next year when he started most of the season. However, Deshea is a crafty veteran who seems to always be in the right spot at the right time. Deshea's best years are behind him, but I still think he is one of the best defensive backs on the team and does an adequate job as the 2nd CB. I do think McFadden will overtake Deshea as the starter allowing Deshea to move into the Nickel as a CB (or even a backup Safety as it has been hinted). I worry that McFadden will have a breakout year, earn a Pro Bowl and lead the team in INT's. WHy does that worry me? His agent is Drew Rosenhaus. Rosenhaus will drive the bidding price for McFadden way way up, meaning unless McFadden is proud to be a Steeler and thankful we gave him a chance in the league, he will most likely sign elsewhere for buku bucks. I really don't see the Steelers being bidders for McFadden especially if we have to resign other free agents.

-And finally, there's Anthony Smith. Not much to worry about here. He is a restricted free agent, and notorious for his media rants, undisciplined nature, and attitude toward coaching. Best of all is the mean streak he plays with when he's on the field. Sounds like a perfect Steeler doesn't it? He should be back.

That concludes this very long post. I'm hoping to simply strike up some good conversation with all my fine fellow Steeler enthusiasts. I do enjoy hearing each and every one of your opinions on these sorts of matters. So please, I encourage you all to input your own feedback!

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I say.....

Farrior is a keeper at whatever the cost. Ultimate pro/team player, understands the business side and his ego will not get in the way of younger guys development. On top of all that he is one of our leaders, and we can’t keep losing our leaders year after year. (Bettis, Porter, Fanaeca).

I would like to keep B-Mac if he can build on the potential he has shown. We are caught in a catch 22, being if he cracks the starting lineup and produces Rosenhaus will see to it that he signs for too much somewhere else. If he has a subpar/bad year do we resign him?

Smith needs to stay, Fanaeca aside, we really should stop letting players go that can still play (Woodson is a good example, Lloyd, Lake, etc.) regardless of age. Performance should be the only benchmark we abide by.

Charlie is invaluable, resign for no less than 2 yrs. By then we will know if Dixon can be a capable back-up or maybe trade bait, who knows?

The other players on your list are easily replaced IMO. Take either Willie or Max, A. Smith might be on the bubble anyway, yeah the guy can hit but what else? Carey Davis should not have replaced Dan the Man. St. Louis got a gamer ( him blocking for Jackson, Whoa!) I know he may be a better athlete (catching, running, etc) but how much action does the fullback get with the ball? A little less than the TE’s on our team. And that ain’t much!!

60 minute men

by I.W.H.F.M.D.95 on Aug 5, 2008 10:18 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Farrior

I could definitely see the FO working with Farrior if he’s willing to take a pay cut to retire a Steeler. They did that for Bettis, for very much the same reason. In fact, there could be several parallels there. Just like the Bus was no longer the starter, but could still start (and even dominate) for a few games when needed, I would expect that Farrior could fill in well if he’d no longer a starter, but his replacement is out for a few games.

by WolfpackSteelersFan on Aug 5, 2008 3:28 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

OL is the only worry

There are a lot of vets that need to be signed, but with all those FA’s, we’ll have a lot of cap space, too. Here’s what I think we’ll do:

- Give appropriate tenders to RFA’s

- Rework Ward’s cap number. Ward will be set to make like $8M next year, which he isn’t worth. He had all the leverage when he signed that deal (Plax leaving); now the Steelers have all the leverage (Limas and ‘tonio). He’ll sign an extention for a fair price and retire a Steeler.

- Farrior has mentioned signing for cheap, and that will probably get done before the season. Even if he doesn’t, Foote can take his role, and Humpal has looked good so far.

- Batch will either retire or resign for cheap. He’s a local guy who’s not going to play the market. Hopefully Dixon will develop in a year or two.

- BMac is a question mark, but if we can get him to sign for a modest deal, it will keep CB off our list of pressing needs, which already includes OL and DL.

- We have to sign Kemo (I didn’t see him on your list, but he’ll be an UFA). We have no other options. If he can’t make it as a starter we are incredibly screwed.

- Colon will get his tender, and might even get a long term extention before the start of next season. He’s young and pretty good. If we draft a real RT, Colon should replace Simmons whenever that tackle is ready to start. He’s only playing RT now because they don’t like Starks.

- We have to sign Marvel. If his injuries come up again, we are incredibly screwed.

- We’ll let Starks (UFA) leave unless we don’t resign Marvel. If Starks is our starting LT, we are incredibly screwed.

- Cary Davis is nothing special. He’d sign for cheap unless we went with a guy like Lasko to replace him.

- Draft plan next year: get a solid RT with LT potential, draft a bunch of DL’s

by BadMaafala on Aug 5, 2008 10:29 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

my take

I’ll rehash the sentiments that I posted a while back:

Batch—hopefully Dixon will show enough potential to let Batch go, he’s been great in Pittsburgh but they drafted Dixon to be the backup

Carey Davis—he’s dirt cheap and the closest to a fullback on the team. Not to mention he led the team in special teams tackles. He’s not going anywhere

Colon – he’s restricted so he’ll be back on a one year tender just like Essex, Nate and Chris K this year

Starks—he’s a total mystery. I’d have to think that he’ll want to get the heck out of here considering the coaching staff obviously don’t seem to want to give him a chance to even compete for a starting spot

Marvel—they’ll try to resign him but it’ll be tough. If he’s healthy they will be plenty of suitors out there.

Farrior—If Timmons is the player that we all hope, I’d be ok with letting Farrior walk. He’s a warrior but unless he’s interested in the veteran minimum, I say let him go. I’d rather re-sign Foote next year.

McFadden—he’s as good as gone. If they wanted to keep they should have already signed him. If he plays well and wins the starting job, he’ll break the bank. If he struggles, they don’t have much use for him.

Anthony Smith—he’s a RFA so he’ll be back on a one year tender just like Colon.

Revenge of the Birds

by cgolden on Aug 5, 2008 10:37 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Good observations.

appreciate all the feedback. And I am glad because alot of things have been pointed out to me and they make better sense now.
Starks wants to get the heck out of here. We are pretty much playing a Guard over him at Tackle that’s how badly we don’t trust him.
Interesting points made on B-Mac, if he succeeds this year he is gone, if he has a terrible season he is going to be a Max Starks of next offseason. We might be desperate and try and retain him so we will tag him. Then again it all depends on how William Gay comes along IMO. As well as some of those young DB’s we have waiting in the wings.

by iBleedBlack&Gold on Aug 5, 2008 11:58 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

McFadden

If he struggles, we won’t tag him. He’ll be signed somewhere (possibly Pittsburgh) for a reasonable amount, unless someone like crazy Al Davis offers him Champ Bailey money. Either way, if he’s gone, because of struggling, we’ll sign some mid-level FA or draft a replacement. William Gay may very well be his replacement next year.

by WolfpackSteelersFan on Aug 5, 2008 3:25 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

What's messed up is...

that I’m torn between hoping we keep the OL guys and hoping we get better at those positions some magical way with other dudes.

I hope Farrior stays – the pups could still use the vet back there, plus he’s still good and rarely gets caught out of position (as far as I can see). + like all have said, he’s willing to redo a deal, and to me that says keep the man.

I’m hoping Smith stays healthy and we keep him too – that position is just too important to go playing around with it. Agree that if Starks winds up here we’re screwed. If Starks starts here next year they had better keep Charlie Batch.

McFadden I see as probably gone. Starks – if the coaches don’t like him, why keep him, Kemo – hope he stays. Davis – I liked him carrying the ball in preseason last year – never expected they’d make him the fullback – as a fullback I don’t think he’s all that and with the rest of the stable packed with RBs I doubt they work too hard on keeping him.

by SCSteeler on Aug 5, 2008 3:35 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Why isn't Hartwig getting the 1st team snaps?

it’s scary as heck!...and while we’re at it, why isn’t Starks being put in? These are the things that are driving me crazy.

by SCSteeler on Aug 5, 2008 4:07 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

We all figured out that...

The coaching staff hates Max Starks and we only kept him around because we are in desperate need of depth at O-Line in case of injury to Marvel. So wave goodbye to the $7 million backup after our last game this year, he’s good as gone unless we see a miracle revelation and he somehow cracks that starting 5 (which will also be the day that Casey Hampton drops to less than 350 lbs: NEVER).

by iBleedBlack&Gold on Aug 5, 2008 5:12 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Battles

People that have been at camp say Colon is noticeably more explosive off the snap than Starks and it looks like he’s the top backup at both tackles this year. Supposedly the coaches are going to look at the pre-season games as to the center battle, so don’t get too worried just yet.

by BadMaafala on Aug 5, 2008 5:26 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Too late.

I’m worried that Mahan will “win” the job and lead us to another pathetic season for the O-Line. Look at the teams we are playing, ALOT of good DT’s/NT’s on some of the rosters..
If you quiet down and listen up you can hear Mahan shaking in his boots. : D

by iBleedBlack&Gold on Aug 5, 2008 5:40 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Worried….who’s worried? ;) Just need to get to some play – even preseason play – to start to geta real feel for this thing.

Just read that Kemo’s injury was done in his Rocky-esque home training regime of running up and down stairs when he tripped and hit his elbow on a rail. DOH!

That’s one they can’t blame on a “hard camp”.

by SCSteeler on Aug 5, 2008 5:31 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs