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The Pittsburgh Steelers have filled a lot of holes on their roster via Free Agency. They secured the wide receiver position by signing Darrius Heyward-Bey to a new contract, and the same thing can be said about the guard position with Ramon Foster.
Although some holes were patched, there are some still left wide open. One of those holes would be along the defensive line. The Steelers seem prepared to let Cam Thomas find a new home in 2016, and rightfully so, but there is no one other than L.T. Walton on the team's depth chart who is worth mentioning outside of starters Cameron Heyward and Stephon Tuitt.
This would be the reason why it is being reported the team is going to host former Dallas Cowboys defensive end Jack Crawford sometime this week.
With depth on DL a bit of an issue, #Steelers have scheduled DE Jack Crawford for a visit this week.
— Adam Caplan (@caplannfl) March 29, 2016
The move would certainly make sense, but as is the case with most free agent deals, the price has to be right. The Steelers are low on cap space, but have a big need along the defensive front. A deal could still be done, but Crawford would have to certainly help the Steelers when it came to the financial numbers.
Crawford, who was born and grew up in England before coming to the United States in 2005, was a 5th round draft pick by the Oakland Raiders in 2012 out of Penn State. While playing for Penn State he was recruited as both a tight end and defensive end, showing his athleticism.
When the Raiders waived him in 2014, the Dallas Cowboys picked him up. He was used a lot in 2015; he played in every game (one start) at both defensive tackle and defensive end, finishing with 18 tackles (3 for loss), 4 sacks, 10 quarterback pressures and one pass defensed.
Crawford has that versatility the Steelers love along the defensive line, and it certainly jives with their sub-package heavy defensive philosophy. Whether a deal gets done has yet to be determined, but the Steelers are still searching for answers at several positions via Free Agency.