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The Pittsburgh Steelers have needs on their roster. Now that Ladarius Green has been signed, the direction which the Steelers are taking at tight end is clear, but there are other positions the team should be looking into to help provide depth, specifically: cornerback, safety, offensive guard and offensive tackle.
However, Pittsburgh does not have a lot of salary cap space to play with, and I sincerely doubt that Eric Weddle will be playing at Heinz field any time soon. In fact, some of the most important signings this offseason may well be resigning departing players.
With that said, who should Pittsburgh be targeting this offseason?
Will Allen, Safety
Resigning Will Allen is vital for Pittsburgh's defense. This position is already a weakness on the roster, and another hit cannot be allowed. He knows the playbook, he knows the team and he knows the staff. Letting a player who started every game he played this year walk away would be dangerous. With one interception, two forced fumbles, four sacks and 62 tackles, he is obviously a vital component to this defense.
He has twelve years in the league too. Sure, with age comes its own set of problems, but that experience would be paramount for training up a rookie. Long term, he is important for this very reason. Short term, he is also vital, because if a potential rookie is being brought up to standard, then Pittsburgh will still need someone to play safety in the meantime.
Mike McGlynn, Guard
McGlynn plays at a position that this team needs. With only Cody Wallace and David DeCastro of note on the roster, McGlynn would provide some much needed depth. His eight years in the NFL would be useful to the team, experience at O-line keeps the quarterback protected and the running back's routes clear. Even though he only took 15 snaps last season, looking back to his prior three seasons he took a combined 2863 snaps. Experience like that on the O-line will be essential moving forward.
McGlynn comes cheap too. His contracts have been less than a million at the saints, and with the restricted cap space and the likelihood of using that cap space to secure re-signings (on top of Green's contract), this would be a great value for money signing.
Kelvin Beachum, Tackle
Beachum is another re-signing the Steelers cannot afford not to make. He plays at a position that the Steelers cannot afford to let weaken. This season alone saw the difference not having Beachum can make. Beachum played every game last season, as opposed to his six this season, and the difference he made can be seen by Ben Roethlisberger's throwing stats - he threw around 1,000 yards less when comparing 2015 and 2014. Of course, Ben's injury has a lot to do with this, but I can't help but consider Beachum's influence too.
Knowing all of this, Beachum has played with the Steelers since he was drafted in 2012. Much like Allen, he knows how things are done in the Steel city. He is also one of the best at his position. Allowing him to walk away from the Steelers would be a huge mistake.
Free agency is always great fun, seeing which stars (be them potential or actual) are going to land where is great. There are always attractive and prolific players up for consideration, but chasing these hefty contracts is not in Pittsburgh's interest. Of course, signing Eric Weddle would be monumentous, but with that comes with a monumentous price tag. The Steelers cap space simply won't stretch that far, and even if it could, signing one awesome playmaker does not make a team.
Ultimately, the best players that Pittsburgh could sign would be re-signing those that have shown they already work well with the team. Experience seems to be something that the Steelers organisation values highly, and it works. It makes sense to bring in new players, but only when there is not suitable fit already on the roster.