Moves Pittsburgh Steelers Will Regret Not Making This Offseason
The NFL offseason can often be about what a team didn't do just as much as what it did do. Whether that means missing out on re-signing a free agent, losing a bidding war for another or making the wrong decisions about a certain position, every team has a few things it would have done differently or liked to take back.
For the Pittsburgh Steelers, there were a few missed opportunities that, while correctable in the coming months, could raise a few regrets. Here are the Steelers' five biggest misses of the offseason.
Choosing Antwon Blake over Brice McCain
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Though the Steelers were smart to not let both Brice McCain and Antwon Blake leave in free agency, given how thin they are at cornerback, choosing Blake over McCain was one of the team's bigger offseason missteps.
Blake, who signed a one-year restricted free-agent tender over the weekend, appeared in 11 games for the Steelers in 2014 when Cortez Allen was first demoted to slot corner and then benched. He totaled 42 combined tackles, six passes defensed and one interception.
McCain had the more valuable season for the Steelers and should have been a higher-priority free agent. He totaled 10 starts, including the playoffs, and totaled 25 combined tackles, six passes defensed and three interceptions, tying William Gay for the most picks on the team.
Furthermore, according to Pro Football Focus, McCain gave up only one touchdown on 51 targets and 615 snaps played, compared to five touchdowns allowed by Blake, on 47 targets and 275 snaps played. Given that McCain signed a two-year, $5.5 million contract with the Miami Dolphins that has a per-year value of $2.75 million—one that the Steelers could have afforded as well—it seems as though the Steelers chose to keep the wrong cornerback.
Failing to Find a Better Backup Quarterback
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The key to the Steelers' success in 2014 had almost everything to do with their offense. Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger had a career year, helped out by a stable offensive line, impressive playmaking receivers like Antonio Brown and the excellent running and receiving put on display by running back Le'Veon Bell. He was given a four-year, $87.4 million contract extension for his performance.
Even if the Steelers manage to rebuild their defense this offseason and bring it back to the level typically expected of the team, the offense will again be Pittsburgh's biggest strength. Which means the Steelers need to make sure that it can perform at a high level even if one component is sidelined with injury.
Though Roethlisberger is coming off two straight seasons in which he's played in all 16 games, given his injury history and style of play, the risk of him missing a game or two is always hanging over the Steelers' heads. So, it is somewhat baffling that they'd again be comfortable heading into another year with Bruce Gradkowski as his primary backup.
In Gradkowski's NFL career, which has spanned five teams, he has a completion percentage of just 52.9 percent. He's thrown 21 touchdowns to 24 interceptions and has been sacked 53 times. Though experienced, Gradkowski's talent level is a huge drop-off from Roethlisberger's, and should he see playing time this year, it could tank the Steelers offense.
This wasn't the most fruitful year for veteran quarterback talent; however, the Steelers would have been smart to at least kick the tires of a few of the free agents available in order to upgrade their backup quarterback position.
Not Releasing Cam Thomas
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Defensive end is not a position where the Steelers are strong. There are players who have promise, though, such as Stephon Tuitt, and Cam Heyward is a bona fide star in the making. There is also Clifton Geathers, who was re-signed at the beginning of the month after spending 2014 in Pittsburgh, although he was inactive for the season.
This isn't a lot of depth. But that doesn't mean the Steelers should have remained comfortable keeping Cam Thomas on the roster. He totaled 18 combined tackles, two tackles for a loss and a half-sack in 2014. He was a major liability against the run—the primary responsibility of a 3-4 defensive end. Pro Football Focus ranked him last (89th of 89) at the position. He recorded only eight stops against the run in 201 run-defense snaps played.
Thomas is so much of a liability that he isn't worthy of being in the defensive line rotation or on the bench as depth. The draft could easily produce a player who can take up at least half of the 443 snaps Thomas played in 2014, with Tuitt or even Geathers handling the rest. The Steelers should have released Thomas and allowed him to be some other team's problem in 2015.
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Being Overly Patient with Troy Polamalu
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The Steelers knew going into this offseason that longtime starting safety Troy Polamalu was not going to factor into their 2015 plans. They've been respectful, allowing him to take his time to decide whether he will retire or continue to play on, which will result in the Steelers releasing him.
Though this patience is understandable, given all that Polamalu has meant to and contributed for the organization, allowing this process to move at a snail's pace affected the Steelers' ability to be more flexible in free agency.
Releasing Polamalu outright would have saved the Steelers $3.75 million in salary-cap space, money that could have been spent on re-signing cornerback Brice McCain. If Polamalu had already opted to retire, then the Steelers would have recouped that $3.75 million and a portion of his signing bonus, potentially up to an additional $4.5 million.
Barring that, the Steelers could also release Polamalu with a post-June 1 designation, giving them $6 million in additional salary-cap space on that date. While that cash wouldn't have been available to the team until that time, it still would allow the Steelers to actually know where they financially stand. Now, their cap situation is in flux, and it won't be made clear until something happens regarding Polamalu's playing status.
Not Having More Options at Outside Linebacker
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The Steelers' outside linebacker situation that has unfolded this offseason isn't about the team regretting moves it didn't make but about a lack of options available at an affordable price.
Heading into free agency, the Steelers had only one outside linebacker under contract, 2013 first-round draft pick Jarvis Jones. James Harrison, Arthur Moats and Jason Worilds, who all played significant snaps at edge-rusher in 2014, were all unrestricted free agents.
The Steelers did the best they could, bringing back Moats and then later Harrison. Worilds, who was expected to command $7 to $9 million per year on average on the open market, seemed financially out of the Steelers' reach. He then went out of every team's reach, opting to retire.
For what it's worth, Steelers general manager Kevin Colbert acknowledged that Worilds wasn't a part of the Steelers' plans moving forward, and thus the retirement did not affect their approach to the offseason. But the situation with Worilds—namely, being too expensive for the Steelers had he remained in the NFL—underscores why they couldn't do much at outside linebacker in free agency.
Pittsburgh brought back Moats on a three-year, $7.5 million contract, but its average yearly value is just $2.5 million. Harrison returned on a two-year deal worth $1.375 million per year on average. Beyond that, any of the other capable pass-rushers were simply far too pricey for the Steelers, with most receiving anywhere from $3.5 million to over $7 million per year in average value.
This certainly relates back to the years of poor salary-cap management that have kept the Steelers from being major players in free agency. In that sense, this can be categorized as a regret. But it was also the nature of this year's market at outside linebacker that left the Steelers with only three experience pass-rushers on their current roster.
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