Pittsburgh Steelers' Blueprint for Winning Free Agency
Free agency is but one week away. Though the Pittsburgh Steelers are rarely very active during the veteran signing period, owing in part to being strapped for cash to pay the players, there are strategies the team can still employ in order to get through the hectic first week of free agency no worse for wear.
Here are the five things the Steelers must do—or avoid doing—in order to emerge from free agency a winner.
Release Players to Save Cash
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The Steelers have been busy leading up to the start of free agency on March 10, restructuring the contracts of center Maurkice Pouncey, safety Mike Mitchell and offensive tackle Marcus Gilbert, thus freeing up nearly $10 million in salary-cap space.
However, the Steelers can free up even more cash—$8.75 million according to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review's Mark Kaboly—by cutting safety Troy Polamalu, defensive lineman Cam Thomas, wide receiver Lance Moore and defensive end Brett Keisel.
It would be unprecedented for the Steelers to have nearly $18 million in salary-cap space heading into the free agency. It would not necessarily herald a new era of big free-agency spending for the team, however—that's just not how the Steelers build their roster. So, the risk-reward balance of any players released would have to be handled with care.
The Steelers will need to replace these players, particularly Polamalu, Thomas and Keisel. The latter two, at the very least, represent depth on the defensive line that the Steelers will have to find elsewhere. Polamalu is a starter in a year that does not boast much starter-quality talent either in free agency or the draft. The Steelers would have to be confident that Shamarko Thomas is ready to take the field full-time on defense.
Still, at some point the Steelers will have tough decisions to make about fairly expensive veterans. For a cash-poor team like Pittsburgh, this may be an attractive year to release players in order to recoup the financial benefits.
Absorb the Loss of Jason Worilds
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Though the Steelers have spent the last week clearing up cap space and could do even more to advance that effort, the end result does not appear to be re-signing outside linebacker Jason Worilds.
Worilds, who played the 2014 season on a $9.754 million transition tag, totaled 59 tackles, 7.5 sacks, five tackles for a loss, an interception and two fumble recoveries on the season. It was possible that Worilds would again get the transition tag from the Steelers; however, the team has instead opted to allow him to hit the free-agency market, almost guaranteeing that he will play elsewhere in 2015.
This puts the Steelers in a tough position. Losing Worilds—along with fellow free agents James Harrison and Arthur Moats—leaves the Steelers with just Jarvis Jones at the all-important outside linebacker position.
The Steelers, however, could bring back either Harrison or Moats with their newfound cash or even welcome back LaMarr Woodley, who was released by the Oakland Raiders on Sunday, according to NFL Media Insider Ian Rapoport (via Dan Hanzus of NFL.com).
The latter may not be likely given Woodley's disappointing 2014, in which he played six games before being placed on injured reserve with a torn biceps, but the former is certainly in play.
There are a number of serviceable free-agent outside linebackers this year who have a lower per-year price tag than Worilds. It's possible the Steelers add one, simply because the position is both so thin and so inexperienced. But, that thinness and lack of experience at linebacker appears not to be argument enough for the Steelers to make an effort to retain Worilds for 2015.
Bring in Veteran Depth at Running Back
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Though the 2015 draft is deep at the running back position, the Steelers should also spend some of their salary-cap space on a free-agent veteran.
Though Le'Veon Bell is clearly the one to carry the heavy load in Pittsburgh, the depth behind him isn't reliable or proven. The Steelers need insurance should Bell again suffer an injury, as he did in Week 17, which left the team scrambling to fill his void. They also need someone to complement him on the field even when healthy.
Though expensive options like DeMarco Murray aren't within the Steelers' reach, other veterans like Roy Helu—who can run and catch out of the backfield much like Bell—Shane Vereen or Stevan Ridley (depending on who the New England Patriots opt to keep) could be inexpensive additions who could contribute alongside Bell in a similar role.
The Steelers then can find a downhill, thumping running back to round out their group of running backs in the draft, in the middle rounds. Youth is always a plus at the running back position, to be sure, but the Steelers need to add an experienced veteran with actual NFL playing time to make them more well-rounded.
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Add the Right Cornerback
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One of the Steelers' biggest positions of priority this year is cornerback. Ike Taylor is about to leave in free agency, and the depth chart at cornerback is mostly young. Though the Steelers did give Cortez Allen an extension prior to the 2014 season, he ended the year on the bench. Another younger cornerback, Antwon Blake, is also a free agent.
Steelers general manager Kevin Colbert spoke about free agency to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review's Mark Kaboly and said that cornerback is a position the team will examine, though he wonders, "Is there one that's available and signable?"
Kaboly notes that whoever the cornerback might be, it won't be a big name or an expensive signing, citing that the team's "comfort zone" is "young-depth free-agent signings," something Colbert echoes: "I kind of like that type of depth. It's an experienced, young depth, as opposed to the rookie that has to be thrown in."
Those young players could include Sterling Moore, who is entering his sixth year in the NFL and had 46 tackles and 13 passes defensed with the Dallas Cowboys in 2014, or Davon House, who had 28 tackles and an interception for the Green Bay Packers last season and believes he's ready for a starting job, according to Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (via Mike Wilkening of Pro Football Talk).
This would not preclude the Steelers from addressing cornerback in the draft. However, picking up one of these younger free-agent cornerbacks would fit the Steelers' pattern this time of year and give them additional experience on the roster at the right price.
Stay True to Who You Are
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The Steelers have holes in their roster and potentially far more salary-cap space than usual. However, free agency has never been an active time for the Steelers, who prefer to build for the short- and long-terms via the draft. This shouldn't change this year, though their financial situation should allow for more flexibility with spending.
Last year, the Steelers were uncharacteristically big spenders in free agency, giving a total of $38 million in contracts to seven players, including safety Mike Mitchell, wide receiver Lance Moore and linebacker Arthur Moats. However, in 2012, the Steelers signed just one free agent—tight end Leonard Pope—and none in 2011.
The Steelers know what their needs are and what the free-agent landscape is mostly going to look like a week from now. They have their targets, not all of whom they will be able to sign. But despite the Steelers having many glaring needs all around the roster, from starters to depth, their free-agent wish list is likely much shorter than a typical NFL team with $10 million (or more) in cap space.
Free agency simply isn't the Steelers' time of year. So if they don't spend much or sign many players, do not be alarmed. The Steelers are who they are, and it's mostly worked out well. Just because the Steelers can be active in free agency this year doesn't mean they will or should.
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