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Steelers to meet with free agent LB Arthur Moats, probably on Monday. RB LaGarrette Blount pushed back to Friday.
— Alan Robinson (@arobinson_Trib) March 23, 2014
If LeGarrette Blount's visit was pushed back to Friday so general manager Kevin Colbert and head coach Mike Tomlin could be there (they're in Orlando attending the league meetings this week), what does it say to free agent linebacker Arthur Moats - who will visit with the team (probably, reports Robinson) on Monday?
Perhaps the sense of urgency behind Moats' desire to get moving in free agency compels him to stop in Pittsburgh and check things out. Maybe it's nothing at all, and the fact he's showing up on Monday simply means they've already dotted the i and lower case j in a contract.
Whichever option it is, the Steelers aren't slowing down in their efforts to look outside the current roster to improve the team. Moats is the latest of several free agents who have appeared in Pittsburgh the last two weeks.
Moats was an early down run-stopping linebacker in the Bills' variable front seven defense. He has played outside linebacker as well, but his strength is early downs against the run. He was injured over the Bills' final two games this season and missed time with injury the last two years.
Otherwise, Moats, who just turned 26 and was the team's recipient of its Ed Block Award for courage, appears to be an excellent run-stopping compliment next to Lawrence Timmons in the Steelers' base defense. That position is open for competition right now since the release of Larry Foote earlier this offseason.
Vince Williams played in Foote's place last season, and he would be the early front-runner for the position. Along with Williams, who's rookie season was unspectacular at best, Sean Spence, the team's third round pick in 2012, is expected to return to the field after suffering a major knee injury his rookie year.