Kevin Colbert: Jason Worilds wasn't in the Steelers plans for the 2015 season

Many waited for it, myself included. When Jason Worilds suddenly decided to walk away from the NFL life, the Pittsburgh Steelers didn't flinch. They didn't thrust themselves into serious discussions with free agent outside linebackers, instead they stuck with their plan, which as Kevin Colbert told Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, never involved Worilds.

Colbert said retirement of Jason Worilds had no effect on 92 signing because Worilds "really wasn't in our plans."

— Gerry Dulac (@gerrydulac) March 23, 2015

Steelers thought Worilds would get a FA offer they couldn't or wouldn't match, so they were moving on w out him, Colbert said.

— Gerry Dulac (@gerrydulac) March 23, 2015

The fact of the matter is the Steelers knew they couldn't, or wouldn't, get into a bidding war with another team to keep Worilds, who grossly under performed in 2014. The team knew they weren't going to win that war, and decided to move on with plans which consisted of signing Arthur Moats before free agency began, and eventually bringing James Harrison back into the fold.

Even though Colbert stated Worilds' retirement didn't impact the signing of Harrison, it certainly had to force the organization's hand in some way. After all, no one truly believed the team would be going into the 2015 season with the only experienced outside linebackers being Jarvis Jones and Moats, along with those on the team's practice squad, and hoping to land a pass rusher in the upcoming NFL Draft.

If Worilds wasn't in the Steelers' plans moving forward, the team can be commended for it's forward thinking and preparation throughout the offseason, whether fans like it or not.