Report: Matt Feiler and Mike Hilton sign their 2nd round tenders with the Steelers

Steelers offensive lineman Matt Feiler has reportedly signed his second round tender today, keeping him in Pittsburgh for the 2020 season. Feiler will earn $3.26 million for the 2020 season, and in 2021 will be an Unrestricted Free Agent.

Matt Feiler played college football for Bloomsburg college, an NCAA Division II program. Undrafted out of college he joined the Houston Texans for 2014 and the start of the 2015 season. He was signed off waivers in September of 2015 by the Steelers and placed on their practice squad. Feiler would remain on the roster without seeing the field until 2017 when he earned a top back-up job and played in 5 games.

Matt Feiler took over the starting right tackle job in Week 8 of the 2018 season when the Steelers put Marcus Gilbert on injured reserve. The Steelers traded Marcus Gilbert to the Arizona Cardinals for a 6th round draft pick during the 2019 offseason, paving the way for Matt Feiler to start at right tackle for the entire 2019 season.

Feiler is expected to start at right tackle for the Steelers again in 2020. He also has experience playing guard, giving the team flexibility in assembling their best 5 players on the line. Feiler played guard in the Steelers Week 10 win over the Los Angeles Rams last season.

UPDATE: Mike Hilton has also signed his tender according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

Hilton went undrafted in 2016 out of Mississippi. Originally spending time in training camp with the Jacksonville Jaguars, Hilton was briefly signed to the New England Patriots practice squad. By the end of the season, Hilton was with the Steelers on their practice squad and signed a futures contract for the following offseason.

Since joining the Steelers, Hilton has become the teams slot cornerback and has been one of the league’s better players at the position over the last several seasons.

Before signing their tenders, Feiler and Hilton had the ability to negotiate a contract with another team. The Steelers would have had the option to match the contract to retain either player or receive a second-round draft pick in 2021 as compensation. An explanation of the various types of Restricted Free Agent tenders according to NFL.com is as follows:

Restricted free agent (RFA): A player with three accrued seasons and an expired contract. RFAs are free to negotiate and sign with any team, but their original team can offer them one of various qualifying offers (“tenders”) that come with the right of first refusal and/or draft-pick compensation. If the tender is withdrawn by a team, the RFA becomes an unrestricted free agent. In 2020, teams must submit these tenders before 4 p.m. ET on March 18. These amounts change annually; the following numbers are for the 2020 season. Players can choose either (a) or (b) regardless of which is greater in the applicable tenders below.

The RFA tenders are classified as follows:

First-round tender: One-year contract worth the greater of (a) $4.641 million or (b) 110 percent of the player’s prior-year base salary. If the player’s original team decides not to match an offer sheet signed with another team, it is entitled to a first-round draft pick from the player’s new team. Unless received two days or later prior to the NFL draft, draft compensation for each tender is due in the same league year as the offer sheet is signed.

A signed offer sheet with a new team includes Principal Terms that must be matched by the prior club. However, if the new team includes terms that waive or limit its ability to designate the RFA a franchise player, the old team will not have to match this term if it has tendered the player with an offer worth $500,000 more than the first-round tender ($5.141 million in 2020).

Second-round tender: One-year contract worth the greater of (a) $3.259 million or (b) 110 percent of the player’s prior-year base salary. Draft-choice compensation: second-round pick.

Original-round tender: One-year contract worth the greater of (a) $2.133 million or (b) 110 percent of the player’s prior-year base salary. Draft-choice compensation: a pick in the round the player was originally drafted in.

Right-of-first-refusal tender: One-year contract worth $2.133 million. Team has the right to match any offer sheet signed with another team, but there is no draft compensation tied to this tender.

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