As was discussed in the comments section of our initial 53-man roster breakdown, Anthony 'Booger' McFarland would be a welcome addition to a thin Steelers' defensive line. McFarland, who missed all of last season with a torn patellar tendon, will be holding a private, individual workout in Tampa, Florda early next month, with the intention of proving to organizations that he's fully healed and ready to play solid football in 2008.
Because he's a free-agent, the Steelers will have competition in acquiring his services if they are sufficiently convinced he's recovered and ready to play. But having played for Mike Tomlin in Tampa Bay during the Bucs Super Bowl year might help our cause in courting him.
I'm going to hold off on speculating what McFarland could bring to the table until he has his workout, but there's several things to consider:
1) How much will he cost and what's our cap situation with and without him?
2) Do we need to start restructuring contracts and/or freeing up some cap space to get a fair deal in order before the workout?
3) Is there any way to know what we might have in our UDFA DL signings before then to help us make a determination of our immediate needs?
We'll see what happens but don't be surprised if we're able to add some much needed depth along the defensive line sooner than you might think. If so, perhaps some of us who are upset that we didn't address our needs in the trenches in this year's draft, can take a step back from the ledge and get excited about the explosive, if not overly physical, team we will be fielding in 2008.