Decisions, Decisions on Steelers Free Agents
by steeler_chris_5 on Jan 14, 2012 2:05 PM EST
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While the playoffs rage on without the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Steelers' front office and coaching staff need to consider making offseason moves for the 2012 season. It is no secret that the Steelers currently will be well over the salary cap. To get under the cap to sign 2012 draft picks, the Steelers will have to consider making personnel moves on future Hall of Fame players like Hines Ward and injury prone players like Daniel Sepulveda. Here is the list of the players up for free agency (and some who aren't) and what I would consider doing for the 2012 season.
The Free Agents
QB Charlie Batch: sign for another one year deal if Byron Leftwich leaves the team.
QB Byron Leftwich: offer a two year deal as the backup QB.
QB Dennis Dixon: let him walk.
RB Mewelde Moore: decent possibility Moore could be picked up by another team immediately given his versatility. However, if Moore is available in late July, the Steelers should consider bringing him in just for competition with Baron Batch.
WR Jerricho Cotchery: let him walk. Will definitely be picked up by another team who believe he can be their number 2 WR (I am thinking Chicago or Seattle).
OL Trai Essex: let him walk. Bring him back in preseason when no other team will have signed him and if injuries pile up like they did this season.
OT Max Starks: if his knee is good to go in August, then bring him back with a 2 year deal.
DT Chris Hoke: if he does retire, give him a job on the coaching staff.
CB William Gay: I used to hate William Gay but now I realize he either got better or he was never that horrible to begin with. However, I think Gay will get decent money from another team (I am thinking San Diego) so the Steelers should make a decent offer but don't overpay under any circumstance.
CB Anthony Madison: let him walk. I am sure he will be available in November 2012 if injuries begin to mount up again.
P Daniel Sepulveda: let him walk. Jeremy Kapinos did well enough to keep the job. Punters who go on IR more than once are not hot commodities.
TE David Johnson: one year tender. And make him a FB full time.
WR Mike Wallace: 1st round tender. I would not do a long term deal with Wallace just yet. Let us see how he does in 2012 first.
G Ramon Foster: one year tender. Bring him back as a backup.
G-C Doug Legursky: one year tender. Bring him back as a backup.
OL Jamon Meredith: let him walk.
CB Keenan Lewis: one year tender. I would be tempted to give him a multiyear deal but I want to make sure his development has not stopped. If Lewis plays so often and so well that it costs the Steelers a lot of money in 2013, so be it.
S Ryan Mundy: one year tender.
FB-RB Isaac Redman: one year tender.
DT Steve McLendon: one year tender.
P Jeremy Kapinos: two year contract. He has earned the punter job.
The Other Guys
DT Casey Hampton: rework his deal. Hampton's salary counts over 8 million in next year's cap. Extend it for another year if need be. Steelers do need to draft another nose tackle within the first three rounds in April.
DE Aaron Smith: cut him. Hopefully he will retire and take a coaching position working for John Mitchell.
LB James Farrior: release him and bring him back at a lesser salary. One year deal only.
LB Larry Foote: release him and bring him back at a lesser salary. He left once before and could not wait to come back. Two year deal tops.
LB Lawrence Timmons: Rework his contract because his cap number is going to be high as well. Timmons has been inconsistent after signing a huge extension.
LB LaMarr Woodley: Rework his contract because his cap number is going to be super high. Woodley's season was going well with 9 sacks in 9 games before he injured the hamstring.
LB James Harrison: Rework his contract as well. Harrison had 9 sacks but had two games where he had 3 sacks each. Harrison at times looked like he was not fully recovered from back surgeries he had last offseason.
CB Bryant McFadden: release him. McFadden was benched in favor of William Gay and hardly saw any time with the defense in the second half of the season.
K Shaun Suisham: release him and draft a new kicker in the later rounds.
WR Hines Ward: Rework his contract. He did state that he was willing to play at a lesser salary. He can still be valuable as a coach on the field for Wallace, Antonio Brown, and Emmanuel Sanders.
OT Jonathan Scott: release him. He will likely not sign with another team so bring him back in preseason if injuries begin to mount up.
OT Willie Colon: release him. He did sign a huge deal last summer which frankly confused me. I always thought Colon was either overrated or playing out of position. Colon's cap number in 2012 is over 6.5 million. That is far too high for a guy with more trips to the IR (two) than Pro Bowls (zero). Bring him back at a much lower salary and play him at RG.
G Chris Kemoeatu: release him. He is not good at all and his knee is going to be an issue as long as he plays. Only bring him back if the injuries pile up and he loses a lot of weight.
Without a doubt, Omar Khan has his work cut out for him. However, he is one of the best at working the salary cap. Prior to this past season, most of us thought that Woodley and Timmons would be gone in free agency. Not only did they get signed but Khan made their salaries fit under the 2011 cap. Same goes for Polamalu's new contract as well. Have faith in Khan and hope he doesn't leave for another team anytime soon.
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I don't really see
them reworking Woodley and Timmons contracts so soon…. I agree with a lot of this, actually most of the rest of it, except for the Colon part. Im not sure we could just release him and not have major cap penalties.
You are probably right
You are probably right about the Colon salary but that 6.5 million for a guy who is more known for being Big Ben’s best buddy than a good RT is painful. However, I would like to think Khan and Colbert took care of this. Remember how after Max Starks signed a huge deal and then was released after a year or so into it? That was what I am thinking.
There are lies, damn lies, and statistics.- Mark Twain
by steeler_chris_5 on Jan 14, 2012 2:21 PM EST up reply actions
Redzone Redman
I want to get him locked up for three years. He is just as good as Mendy IMO and doesn’t have a lot of wear and tear. Plus I’m buying a redzone redman shirt so there is that.
by Unleashed on Jan 14, 2012 7:29 PM EST via mobile reply actions
yeah I think he is very valuable as short yardage RB and backup
I actually thought there were a few games he should have seen the ball a few more times
Any task BIG or small, Do it well or not at all
by Rickfansince76 on Jan 14, 2012 9:27 PM EST up reply actions
no joke
I can’t believe I’m actually reading that some expect this guy back by August. He was nearly 400 pounds last offseason when he was healthy, he’ll be a friggin’ blimp after several months of being on crutches and limited rehab.
by average joe blow on Jan 16, 2012 11:15 AM EST up reply actions
He wasn't healthy
he had a neck injury and then worked his ass off to get into shape
Players who should be in the Hall of Fame: Pat TIllman, Dwight White, Donnie Shell, L.C. Greenwood, Ray Guy, Steve Tasker, Jack Butler, Greg Lloyd, Andy Russell, Cris Carter, Kevin Greene, Curtis Martin, Willie Roaf, Andre Reed and Jerry Kramer
"Clemson should've stopped turning the ball over" Dana Holgorsen when asked about running up the score in the Orange Bowl
by WVPiratesfan on Jan 16, 2012 3:50 PM EST up reply actions
I think we will see a lot more of red man next yr
Would really like to see them lock down a good kicker like Rian Lindell, Dawson, Prater. I point these guys out because they shouldn’t cost more than 2m if that, they kick in cold weather and they have big legs
Prater is a pipe dream
No way we sign Prater because he is gonna likely stay in Denver or go to the highest bidder. Meaning not us. I like Dawson but I think he is gonna ask for too much money too. Same goes for Lindell. I would like us to draft a kid like Carson Wiggs from Purdue or Philip Welch from Wisconsin in the 7th round or so. I have zero faith in Suisham.
There are lies, damn lies, and statistics.- Mark Twain
by steeler_chris_5 on Jan 14, 2012 8:39 PM EST up reply actions
As to the kickers,
I gather that nobody likes to kick in Heinz Field, and therefore nobody that has a choice would sign with the Steelers. As much as I hate to see a decent draft pick used on a kicker, I think they may have to do that. Or bring Swayze Waters back to camp to compete with Suisham, and see if Waters has gotten more accurate in the past year.
"If you're not getting better, I don't care what business you're in, you're a dead man. I try to look critically at the mistakes that I make and try to learn from them, like our team does." - Mike Tomlin
by Rebecca Rollett on Jan 16, 2012 5:42 AM EST up reply actions
am I the only one who doesn’t think Suisham is really all that bad? Kicking in Heinz field is no picnic, and he’s made some doozys
Lack of a good reliable veteran backup QB....
really hurt the Steelers this year. IMHO it was one of the major factors that led to the early departure in the playoffs. Some of you may remember when Mike Tomcjak was our back-up, He couldn’t be the starter but, he came in and won games when the starter went down. Batch, Leftwich and Dixon don’t add up to one because none of them are reliable. Let them all go and pickup a vet.
Because we don’t have a good backup, Ben played when He should have been resting the high ankle sprain. Thoughts?
I dunno about that
I think Charlie is a solid backup but his age (37) works against him. I think playing Ben with a bad ankle was Ben’s and Arians’s idea and Tomlin bought into it. I do agree that a solid veteran backup QB would be nice. I would love to have someone like David Garrard as a backup but he would never go for it and he would be too expensive. Leftwich still has a lot left in his right arm but he is more injury prone than Ben is. Dixon is gone because some team is gonna love his athletic ability.
There are lies, damn lies, and statistics.- Mark Twain
by steeler_chris_5 on Jan 14, 2012 8:34 PM EST up reply actions
Charlie maybe a solid backup in terms of ability
but, not in terms of reliability. We can’t depend on him to play 3 games and take sacks without holding our breath on every play. Put another way, imagine, some people are saying Hines doesn’t have it anymore, but, he is a lot closer to an NFL WR than Charlie is to a QB. Just my opinion.
Disagree strongly
"It’s easy to lie with statistics, but it’s easier to lie without them." -Fred Mosteller
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by John Stephens on Jan 16, 2012 8:18 AM EST up reply actions
David Garrard? I don’t see anyone giving him a starting job unless someone gets injured. And there was plenty of injured QBs this season and no phone calls to Garrard.
"I believe the game is designed to reward the ones who hit the hardest. If you can't take it, you shouldn't play." ~Jack Lambert.
"Superman ain't got nothing on me, ... Kryptonite? C'mon now. It's just that you're never going to hear me say that somebody is tougher than me, ... Because I don't believe somebody else could be tougher than me." ~James Harrison
by H-burgSTEELfanatic on Jan 16, 2012 10:23 AM EST up reply actions
No phone calls to garrard
because he had back surgery (or neck?). either way thats why he was cut from Jax….
"Leave the gun. Bring the Canolis."
I think it was his back. But I thought he was healed towards around mid to late season when all the QB injuries were happening. Its worth a phone call and a tryout.
"I believe the game is designed to reward the ones who hit the hardest. If you can't take it, you shouldn't play." ~Jack Lambert.
"Superman ain't got nothing on me, ... Kryptonite? C'mon now. It's just that you're never going to hear me say that somebody is tougher than me, ... Because I don't believe somebody else could be tougher than me." ~James Harrison
by H-burgSTEELfanatic on Jan 16, 2012 10:57 AM EST up reply actions
Nope, I pulled up an ESPN article last week that said
Oakland called him after Campbell went down and Garrard told them he just had back surgery and wouldn’t be avaliable this year. He’ll get calls, maybe not as a starter but plenty of teams will want him as a backup
by average joe blow on Jan 16, 2012 11:16 AM EST up reply actions
Colon, Essex and Sepulveda
None of these guys has given the team any real value. Time to cut them loose.
WALLACE
I READ THERE IS A GOOD CHANCE THEY (PITT) WILL LOSE WALLACE!!! What does that mean?? We would get a 1st round draft choice if he signs elsewhare though.
I would not say a good chance
However, there is a chance some team could offer Mike Wallace big money. In return, that team would likely have to give up a 2013 1st and 3rd round pick. If the team in question is willing to do it, I would say the Steelers have to jump on that deal. I love Mike Wallace but draft picks are currency.
There are lies, damn lies, and statistics.- Mark Twain
by steeler_chris_5 on Jan 15, 2012 1:55 PM EST up reply actions
We don’t know that yet. The Steelers haven’t placed any tenders yet to my knowledge.
"It’s easy to lie with statistics, but it’s easier to lie without them." -Fred Mosteller
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by John Stephens on Jan 16, 2012 8:17 AM EST up reply actions
I'm curious
What do you mean “rework” their deals? Shift the money around? Because there is no way those guys are taking cuts on their deal a year after signing them.
"It’s easy to lie with statistics, but it’s easier to lie without them." -Fred Mosteller
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Got that idea from Bouchette
Bouchette mentioned something about reworking Timmons’s and Woodley’s contract on PPG last week. It wouldn’t mean a pay cut. Rather it would backload the deals a bit more but would give breathing room to the salary cap this season, which we need.
There are lies, damn lies, and statistics.- Mark Twain
by steeler_chris_5 on Jan 15, 2012 1:53 PM EST up reply actions
But that would hurt us in the future
There are only so many people you can rework deals for. By back-loading their deals, we make it much more expensive in the future. We did this last year in an emergency situation, we can’t do it every year, and especially not for players who just signed an extension.
by Michael Uhlhorn on Jan 15, 2012 6:39 PM EST up reply actions
Not really
The cap is supposed to rise significantly once a new TV deal is worked out in 2014(?) I think.
"It’s easy to lie with statistics, but it’s easier to lie without them." -Fred Mosteller
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by John Stephens on Jan 16, 2012 8:16 AM EST up reply actions
Yea it's not as big a deal as we make it out to be
The players love it b/c they get more money upfront with salary being converted into instant bonuses and the teams like it b/c it lowers the cap numbers for the upcoming season or two. The only problem that a team can run into is if the salary cap doesn’t continue to grow as much as they expect.
by average joe blow on Jan 16, 2012 11:20 AM EST up reply actions
k99
Who used to post here a lot was under the impression it’d rise a lot. I don’t see how the TV contracts won’t grow with the product the NFL has been putting out.
"It’s easy to lie with statistics, but it’s easier to lie without them." -Fred Mosteller
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by John Stephens on Jan 16, 2012 11:45 AM EST up reply actions
Didn’t we just have a post just last week about this being a record breaking year for the NFL in terms of TV viewers? Just because us die hards don’t like this brand of “air it out football” doesn’t mean that it’s not appealling to the masses.
As an example, I’d personally like to see a SF vs. BAL SB b/c I think that would be a heck of hard hitting, defensive struggle. I would bet though that a NYG vs NE would draw much, much higher ratings because of thier ability to light up the scoreboard.
by average joe blow on Jan 16, 2012 12:01 PM EST up reply actions
Nice article, my version
QB Charlie Batch: let him walk, bring in someone like Chad Henne or David Gerrard as the backup QB
QB Byron Leftwich: let him walk
QB Dennis Dixon: let him walk.
RB Mewelde Moore: min salary or let him walk
WR Jerricho Cotchery: if he doesn’t get any big offers, bring him back. If he gets an offer for much more than the veteran minimum, let him walk.
OL Trai Essex: veteran minimum or let him walk
OT Max Starks: bring back Ben’s security blanket with the intent of playing him on the right side if Gilbert can move to the left side.
DT Chris Hoke: Retires
CB William Gay: 3 years, $7.5 million. No more.
CB Anthony Madison: let him walk
P Daniel Sepulveda: let him walk
TE David Johnson: let him walk. Bring in a real FB and promote Saunders to the #2 TE.
WR Mike Wallace: 1st round tender, but don’t match outrageous salary offers.
G Ramon Foster: bring him back on a 2 or 3 year deal. He’s not a world beater, but he’s a very good spot starter and excellent backup for 3 line positions.
G-C Doug Legursky: see Foster.
OL Jamon Meredith: training camp body
CB Keenan Lewis: 1 year tender
S Ryan Mundy: 1 year tender, but draft someone to replace him
FB-RB Isaac Redman: 1 year tender
DT Steve McLendon: 2-3 year deal for backup money if possible, otherwise 1 year tender
P Jeremy Kapinos: if he wins the inevitable battle in training camp, 2 year deal.
DT Casey Hampton: heavily rework his deal, draft his replacement. He’s clearly lost a step or two.
DE Aaron Smith: retires
LB James Farrior: release him, look for his replacement among Sly and/or free agents.
LB Larry Foote: release him
LB James Harrison: rework his contract if possible
CB Bryant McFadden: release him, though I appreciate his efforts on special teams.
K Shaun Suisham: release him or make him earn the job in camp
WR Hines Ward: release him or veteran minimum. I love Hines, but he simply can’t get open anymore and isn’t really worth the roster spot.
OT Jonathan Scott: release him
OT Willie Colon: keep and see if he’s healed in camp. Could be a major upgrade at the guard spots if he’s healthy and cap considerations make releasing him problematic this year (almost a $5m cap hit to release him).
G Chris Kemoeatu: release him if Willie is healthy, he’s a liability.
WR Arnaz Battle: release him
Really agree with 98% of what you said
Except i think they’ll keep Batch or Leftwich for 1 more year, just to have a back up who has experience with the team/system… but I definitely think they’ll be looking into bringing in another vet (would like Garrard, if he’s healthy- but i’m sure he’ll be getting other calls also), or a late round backup QB.
And I think Foote will be back, but Farrior will be gone- One of them will stay until one of the young guys can show they know how to play the position consistently.
"Leave the gun. Bring the Canolis."
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