Steelers News: The Steelers ILB position is extremely thin heading into the new league year

The Pittsburgh Steelers 2019 season is officially over. After finishing the year 8-8, the Steelers, and their vast fan base, has another long offseason awaiting them. Just because the games are done doesn’t mean we stop providing you with features, commentary and opinions to tide you over throughout the offseason!

Today in the black-and-gold links article we take a look at how the Pittsburgh Steelers inside linebacker position is extremely thin heading into the new league year.

Let’s get to the news:

• The Pittsburgh Steelers released Mark Barron, and now they lost Tyler Matakevich to free agency. Needless to say, the ILB position is thin heading into free agency.

Steelers LB Tyler Matakevich signs 2-year deal with Bills

By: Joe Rutter, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

The Pittsburgh Steelers will have to replace one of their top special teams players for the 2020 season.

Linebacker Tyler Matakevich signed a two-year contract with the Buffalo Bills on Tuesday. The deal reportedly is worth up to $9 million.

The contract was too good to pass up for Matakevich, who made a combined $2.4 million over his four years with the Steelers.

In that span, Matakevich emerged as one of the top special teams players in the NFL.

Matakevich led the Steelers with 14 special teams tackles in 2019. In four seasons, he played in 63 games and had 61 tackles.

The loss of Matakevich is the third at the linebacker position in two days. The Steelers released inside linebacker Mark Barron and outside linebacker Anthony Chickillo on Monday.

To read the full article, click HERE (Free)

• Are the Steelers looking up at the Browns and Ravens after the first wave of free agency?

Tim Benz: Browns, Ravens improve as Steelers crawl to cap compliance

By: Tim Benz, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

We’re used to seeing it.

On Day 1 of the NFL’s 2020 free agency period, the rest of the league took a headfirst dive into the deep end of the pool.

Meanwhile, the Steelers are simply in a doggy paddle toward cap compliance.

That’s the case every year, right?

But for some reason, the gap feels wider this season. Maybe it’s because the Steelers have missed the playoffs two years in a row and there are so many needs to fill.

Maybe it’s because the league is just coming out of a collective bargaining agreement with a salary cap of nearly $200 million.

Maybe it’s because we are all in coronavirus jail and we don’t have “March Madness” or a Penguins playoff push to distract us.

This year, though — more than most — it feels like the Steelers are playing catch up against their own budget while other clubs are improving.

To read the full article, click HERE (Free)

• Important offseason changes for the NFL.

NFL & NFLPA announce offseason changes

By: NFL News, Steelers.com

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell today announced that, following discussions with NFLPA Executive Director DeMaurice Smith and consultations between the medical teams for the NFL and NFLPA, and based on coronavirus (COVID-19) guidance from public health officials, NFL clubs will delay indefinitely the start of their off-season programs. In addition, special procedures will be in place for the start of the new League Year until further notice.

Off-Season Programs

The parties will continue to follow the guidance of medical and public health professionals, including their respective medical advisors. As a result, Off-Season Team Activities will not commence on April 6 for teams with new head coaches and April 20 for all other clubs. The parties will periodically meet and reassess the public health situation to determine an appropriate start date for any offseason team activities and other related considerations as this situation develops....

To read the full article, click HERE (Free)

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