Steelers Keenan Lewis Signs With Saints And The Fallout

[stillers4me]

At some point on Tuesday, the Steelers #2 corner, Keenan Lewis, tweeted that he was going to be with a team, but didn’t say with whom. On Wednesday night, reports started coming out stating that the Saints were interested in Lewis. And, as expected with players and first visits to a team, Lewis walked away with a $26 million deal over five years – with over $11 million in guaranteed money. Lewis finds himself a new home, the Steelers find themselves wondering how this one got away….. or are they?.............

read more @ http://nicepickcowher.com/2013/03/14/steelers-keenan-lewis-signs-with-saints-and-the-fallout/

[Steeldude]

I really don't want to see Curtis Brown on the field at any time. There has got to be another cheap free agent CB out there to replace him

[NJarhead]

At some point on Tuesday, the Steelers #2 corner, Keenan Lewis, tweeted that he was going to be with a team, but didn’t say with whom. On Wednesday night, reports started coming out stating that the Saints were interested in Lewis. And, as expected with players and first visits to a team, Lewis walked away with a $26 million deal over five years – with over $11 million in guaranteed money. Lewis finds himself a new home, the Steelers find themselves wondering how this one got away….. or are they?.............

read more @ http://nicepickcowher.com/2013/03/14/steelers-keenan-lewis-signs-with-saints-and-the-fallout/


Good article! Thanks for sharing.


I really don't want to see Curtis Brown on the field at any time. There has got to be another cheap free agent CB out there to replace him

Well, Cortez is our new #2 and Gay is likely the nickle (unless he loses out to CB). Either way, I think we're in decent shape.

[Godfather]

Hopefully the Lake Effect will help us with the rest of the CB position.

[Spike]

It took our 3rd rd pick 4 whole years to finally break the starting lineup while other teams start rookies right away and produce....and we know why.

LeBleau is much more "comfortable" with the Willie Gays of the world.

Not that there's anything wrong with that.

[FAB802]

It may get worse. Do we plan on fielding a complete roster?

Restricted free agent Emmanuel Sanders is visiting the Patriots on Friday.

Power move. Even low-level restricted free agents rarely escape their tendering team, but the Steelers find themselves in a mess of a cap situation. Sanders is tendered at the original-round level, which means the Patriots would only have to surrender a third-round pick if they signed him to an offer sheet Pittsburgh couldn't match. The Patriots — as you may have heard — have a ton of 2013 cap room left, and could offer a front-loaded deal Pittsburgh didn't have a legitimate chance of matching. Just 26 years old (on Sunday) with 94 catches in three seasons, Sanders would be worth a third-round gamble. He can play all three receiver spots, and has 4.4 wheels.
Related: Patriots (http://www.steelersuniverse.com/teams/clubhouse/nfl/ne/patriots)

Source: Adam Schefter on Twitter (https://twitter.com/AdamSchefter/status/312592585292148736)
Mar 15 - 11:58 AM

- - - Updated - - -


It took our 3rd rd pick 4 whole years to finally break the starting lineup while other teams start rookies right away and produce....and we know why.

LeBleau is much more "comfortable" with the Willie Gays of the world.

Not that there's anything wrong with that.

Love him as a coach, but at some point the return on the young defenders isn't worth whatever he's doing that they can't figure out. You get a year or two max out of them and then they're up for contracts. If they don't do something about losing all of these players next season could make 2012 look like a great year. I'm no doom and gloomer but it's looking bad and we are still old as Hell on defense.

[Dwinsgames]

Love him as a coach, but at some point the return on the young defenders isn't worth whatever he's doing that they can't figure out. You get a year or two max out of them and then they're up for contracts. If they don't do something about losing all of these players next season could make 2012 look like a great year. I'm no doom and gloomer but it's looking bad and we are still old as Hell on defense.


Lake has not been here that long as a coach , can not lay that blame at his feet .... 1 season that is it .....

edit... reread , you where talking about Lebeau .....

all I can say to that is top 5 def season in season out ... hard to find fault IMO and any effort to do so is nothing more than nitpicking to me

[FAB802]

Lake has not been here that long as a coach , can not lay that blame at his feet .... 1 season that is it .....

edit... reread , you where talking about Lebeau .....

all I can say to that is top 5 def season in season out ... hard to find fault IMO and any effort to do so is nothing more than nitpicking to me


Call it what you want. You can wait on your younger players when you have real talent ahead of them. Those statistics are nice, but if people don't see that this defense isn't dominant anymore they're kidding themselves. We don't get to the QB, and the DB's as they sit now are pretty bad. Time will tell I guess.

[Mojouw]

I'm really getting tired of the whole "our defense is so complicated" excuse for younger players not being able to impact for multiple years. You know what, Bellicheck puts in an almost entirely different defensive scheme each week and he plays multiple rookie defenders each year. Green Bay runs a a 3-4 zone blitz scheme and plays multiple young and first year defenders each year, with particular success at the defensive backfield positions. Maybe it is time for the Steelers to consider coaching better? Or perhaps it is time to admit that this team stinks at identifying DB prospects and Curtis Brown is terrible...

[Dwinsgames]

Call it what you want. You can wait on your younger players when you have real talent ahead of them. Those statistics are nice, but if people don't see that this defense isn't dominant anymore they're kidding themselves. We don't get to the QB, and the DB's as they sit now are pretty bad. Time will tell I guess.


I do not see the DBs as bad , in fact I see it more as addition by subtraction ... Keenan Lewis vs Cortez Allen was a virtual tie coming out of camp last season we was not sure as fans whom the starter would be based on performance ... they gave it to Lewis and i suspect it had something to do with time in the system ... fine he played well enough ... however in the 3 games Allen was afforded to start he played even better and as a result had a direct impact on a half dozen turnovers in those 3 games ( more than Lewis did in an entire seasons work ) .....

for me Allen has shown to be an upgrade .... Ike is still Ike so where is the decline ? gay is a very good defender in the slot he becomes exposed playing on the outside .... Dime is where we have some issues to resolve IMO and a draft pick could fix that or growth from Victorian and or Brown

[SteelerEmpire]

Yep. Like soo many other players on this team. We train them up to a professional level, then when their the best they can be, some other team comes along and grabs them.

[Psycho Ward 86]

dont say ike is still ike. he's not a player to be taken for granted. he had a hiccup at the beginning of the season that was a part of the reason why this board had such a serious scare that people were talking about seriously implementing a 4-3 instead of a 3-4. he played awful in the first couple of games before he returned to form. We can pretend its the "Harrison effect," but ike returned to form far before harrison did so theres no one to blame for his terrible play at the beginning of the season but himself. The guy is coming off a fracture [albeit a hairline] and is going to be 33 at the start of the season. How much longer do you anticipate he stays productive AND healthy?

[NCSteeler]

Didn't we pay Ike 25 over 5 years? Why oh why would we not at least offer Lewis the same deal?

[salamander]

Maybe it's just me, but I really don't understand why the Steelers didn't offer Keenan a damn thing... it seems like the Saints got him for a relatively cheap price. Maybe he took a hometown discount to go play in NO, but who really knows. This has been a stressful offseason so far. Things can only go up from here I guess (and hope).

[Shoes]

I'm really getting tired of the whole "our defense is so complicated" excuse for younger players not being able to impact for multiple years. You know what, Bellicheck puts in an almost entirely different defensive scheme each week and he plays multiple rookie defenders each year. Green Bay runs a a 3-4 zone blitz scheme and plays multiple young and first year defenders each year, with particular success at the defensive backfield positions. Maybe it is time for the Steelers to consider coaching better? Or perhaps it is time to admit that this team stinks at identifying DB prospects and Curtis Brown is terrible...

Nicely said, Mojo.

[SteelerFanInStl]

I'm really getting tired of the whole "our defense is so complicated" excuse for younger players not being able to impact for multiple years. You know what, Bellicheck puts in an almost entirely different defensive scheme each week and he plays multiple rookie defenders each year. Green Bay runs a a 3-4 zone blitz scheme and plays multiple young and first year defenders each year, with particular success at the defensive backfield positions. Maybe it is time for the Steelers to consider coaching better? Or perhaps it is time to admit that this team stinks at identifying DB prospects and Curtis Brown is terrible...

I agree.

[steeldawg]

Maybe it's just me, but I really don't understand why the Steelers didn't offer Keenan a damn thing... it seems like the Saints got him for a relatively cheap price. Maybe he took a hometown discount to go play in NO, but who really knows. This has been a stressful offseason so far. Things can only go up from here I guess (and hope).

Its a great question, i was shocked when i saw the deal. The only thing i can think of is we are letting go of anyone we would have to give long term deals to, so we can avoid the situation we are currently in with our aging guys. Its not a strong theory but i really cant come up with a good answer.

[Psycho Ward 86]

Its a great question, i was shocked when i saw the deal. The only thing i can think of is we are letting go of anyone we would have to give long term deals to, so we can avoid the situation we are currently in with our aging guys. Its not a strong theory but i really cant come up with a good answer.

you have it backwards. its because we have to cling to the aging guys on the decline that we cant keep younger talents on the rise. that used to not be a problem. it is now.

[steeldawg]

you have it backwards. its because we have to cling to the aging guys on the decline that we cant keep younger talents on the rise. that used to not be a problem. it is now.

I thought most of our aging guys we could cut and save money, I know woodley is uncuttable at the moment but what about some of our other guys?

[fansince'76]

I'm really getting tired of the whole "our defense is so complicated" excuse for younger players not being able to impact for multiple years. You know what, Bellicheck puts in an almost entirely different defensive scheme each week and he plays multiple rookie defenders each year. Green Bay runs a a 3-4 zone blitz scheme and plays multiple young and first year defenders each year, with particular success at the defensive backfield positions. Maybe it is time for the Steelers to consider coaching better? Or perhaps it is time to admit that this team stinks at identifying DB prospects and Curtis Brown is terrible...

Although I agree with the premise that LeBeau probably needs to simplify things so that it doesn't take a young player 3 years to grasp the scheme in order to play within it effectively, the Patriots and the Packers are among the last teams I'd point to as examples of how to coach up a defense. A big reason those teams score 30+ a game week in and week out is because they HAVE to.

[TMC]

you have it backwards. its because we have to cling to the aging guys on the decline that we cant keep younger talents on the rise. that used to not be a problem. it is now.

Actually it is not. They have the space to retain Keenan Lewis. He received a signing bonus of $6M per season. His 2013 salary is $1M. That makes his 2013 cap hit $2.2M. They could have covered that easily right now and that does not even include the $5.5M they get from Colon in June. His money will cover all the rookies and give $3M more in space.

Wallace leaving was money. Mendenhall and Lewis could have been signed. The Steelers chose not to do that.

[Hindes204]

Actually it is not. They have the space to retain Keenan Lewis. He received a signing bonus of $6M per season. His 2013 salary is $1M. That makes his 2013 cap hit $2.2M. They could have covered that easily right now and that does not even include the $5.5M they get from Colon in June. His money will cover all the rookies and give $3M more in space.

Wallace leaving was money. Mendenhall and Lewis could have been signed. The Steelers chose not to do that.

Well, then I respect thier decisions. They must know something us as fans don't.

[GBMelBlount]

Actually it is not. They have the space to retain Keenan Lewis. He received a signing bonus of $6M per season. His 2013 salary is $1M. That makes his 2013 cap hit $2.2M. They could have covered that easily right now and that does not even include the $5.5M they get from Colon in June. His money will cover all the rookies and give $3M more in space.

Wallace leaving was money. Mendenhall and Lewis could have been signed. The Steelers chose not to do that.

Can't help but wonder if they are not just cleaning house but also putting out the trash.

Perhaps some of these decisions are not be simply cap motivated.

[DarthSpartans20]

I'm really getting tired of the whole "our defense is so complicated" excuse for younger players not being able to impact for multiple years. You know what, Bellicheck puts in an almost entirely different defensive scheme each week and he plays multiple rookie defenders each year. Green Bay runs a a 3-4 zone blitz scheme and plays multiple young and first year defenders each year, with particular success at the defensive backfield positions. Maybe it is time for the Steelers to consider coaching better? Or perhaps it is time to admit that this team stinks at identifying DB prospects and Curtis Brown is terrible...

That approach of Belichick you speak isnt working with starting rookies and younger players. They have ranked 30th, 31st, and 29th the last three years in pass defense. GB has fared slightly better but it has been their pass defense that
has been marginal at best. While I agree they get more splash plays from their respective secondary people, its more of our defense not wanting to give up the big play and keeping gains to a minimum. Its the reason we have had only 2 corners since 2008 have int returns for TD's. By comparison GB had three returns by their corners last year. We need more playmakers whether its thru the draft or thru FA.

[Mojouw]

That approach of Belichick you speak isnt working with starting rookies and younger players. They have ranked 30th, 31st, and 29th the last three years in pass defense. GB has fared slightly better but it has been their pass defense that
has been marginal at best. While I agree they get more splash plays from their respective secondary people, its more of our defense not wanting to give up the big play and keeping gains to a minimum. Its the reason we have had only 2 corners since 2008 have int returns for TD's. By comparison GB had three returns by their corners last year. We need more playmakers whether its thru the draft or thru FA.

The point wasn't so much that the respective defenses are great or not, it was simply that they were examples of two teams that run schematically complex defenses that have plugged in very young players and gotten some results. NE played rookies at LB and along the D-line last year they looked pretty good. THey have had some okay results with DB's as well and apparently NE runs a different scheme each week. GB has had success playing rookies right away (Matthews, Raji, a # of guys at corner and safety). All I was saying was that simply having a complex scheme should not be a total barrier to getting young players on the field and allowing them to have an impact.

[hawaiiansteeler]

would Keenan Lewis be a possible signing for the Steelers? :noidea:


Keenan Lewis says goodbye to New Orleans

Posted by Josh Alper on August 19, 2016

https://nbcprofootballtalk.files.wordpress.com/2014/11/cd0ymzcznguwzdbhnduynddiytjhm2yyzthlmtjjotqwyyznpw rjmmi3ndqznmrhnwy4zmzmztq2yta1ztmxzgy5njmx-e1416002222884.jpeg?w=242

It appears the Saints have decided to part ways with cornerback Keenan Lewis.

In an Instagram post on Friday night, Lewis thanked the fans in New Orleans for an “awesome journey” and wrote that he will “see y’all soon hope y’all still cheer for me.”

The obvious implication of those words is that Lewis will no longer be playing for the Saints. According to multiple reports, Lewis has been released although there has been no official announcement from the team at this point.

Lewis has been with the Saints since 2013 and started all 32 regular season games they played in his first two years with the team. Lewis played just six games last year and has had sports hernia, knee and hip surgeries since last September. He’s been sidelined by further injury issues this summer and it would seem the Saints have tired of waiting for him to get healthy.

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2016/08/19/keenan-lewis-says-goodbye-to-new-orleans/

[Hawkman]

would Keenan Lewis be a possible signing for the Steelers? :noidea:


Keenan Lewis says goodbye to New Orleans

Posted by Josh Alper on August 19, 2016

https://nbcprofootballtalk.files.wordpress.com/2014/11/cd0ymzcznguwzdbhnduynddiytjhm2yyzthlmtjjotqwyyznpw rjmmi3ndqznmrhnwy4zmzmztq2yta1ztmxzgy5njmx-e1416002222884.jpeg?w=242

It appears the Saints have decided to part ways with cornerback Keenan Lewis.

In an Instagram post on Friday night, Lewis thanked the fans in New Orleans for an “awesome journey” and wrote that he will “see y’all soon hope y’all still cheer for me.”

The obvious implication of those words is that Lewis will no longer be playing for the Saints. According to multiple reports, Lewis has been released although there has been no official announcement from the team at this point.

Lewis has been with the Saints since 2013 and started all 32 regular season games they played in his first two years with the team. Lewis played just six games last year and has had sports hernia, knee and hip surgeries since last September. He’s been sidelined by further injury issues this summer and it would seem the Saints have tired of waiting for him to get healthy.

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2016/08/19/keenan-lewis-says-goodbye-to-new-orleans/


Hmmmmm?? For the the right price?

[86WARD]

Id take him back

[Method28]

Would love to have him back

Sent from my SM-N920P using Tapatalk

[Steeldude]

He wasn't that good when he was here. I never understood why he was so hyped up.

[tube517]

Don't be surprised
If they bring him back
especially after Golson went down.

Sent from my K011 using Tapatalk

[ALLD]

I don't think he will pass the physical.

[tube517]

I don't think he will pass the physical.

Ah ok, he was on the PUP list and came back for one day and was cut.

Also, he didn't get along w/the DC over there.

[Mojouw]

I think Lewis can barely walk right now - let alone play ball.

[hawaiiansteeler]

Keenan Lewis 'never got along' with Saints DC Allen

By Chris Wesseling
Around the NFL Writer
Published: Aug. 21, 2016

Keenan Lewis was a star under defensive coordinator Rob Ryan in his first season with New Orleans back in 2013.

Now that Dennis Allen is running the defense, the Saints have cut ties with the veteran cornerback.

Is it the change in coordinator that led to Lewis' Friday exit? He certainly believes that's the case, telling ESPN's Josina Anderson that he was never "one of (Allen's) guys."

"Dennis Allen, we never got along since day one. It was something that happened years ago," Lewis said. "... Like he told me seven years ago, I didn't have what it takes to make it. He told me face-to-face that I wasn't going to make it. So I always used that as my motivation every time I see him."

Lewis was limited to six games in 2015 due to a litany of injuries that resulted in surgeries for an MCL tear, torn labrum and a sports hernia. He tried to played through the two labrum injuries last season, just as he battled through a 2014 injury that left his knee swollen to a degree that he describes as "the size of a bowling ball."

When a strained adductor muscle sidelined him in training camp, he wanted coach Sean Payton to give him time to prove he could still help the team.

"Only thing I asked from coach Payton is, and the organization is, give me an opportunity to play at 100 percent," Lewis explained. "Not even 100 percent, let me play at 90-95 percent healthy, so that I can show people I'm on the same level."

Speaking to reporters Saturday, Payton said he didn't know of any tension between Lewis and Allen. He said Lewis' lack of availability ultimately led to his release.

"It was just trying to get him on the field, Payton said. "It's just been a long time."

Lewis had a strained relationship with the organization going back to March of 2015 when he requested to be traded or released unless the final three years of his contract were guaranteed. Although he was unhappy with the direction of the team following the Jimmy Graham blockbuster trade, he restructured his contract with the Saints shortly thereafter.

It will be interesting to gauge Lewis' free-agent market after taking his issues with Allen public. A legitimate shadow corner in his prime, he's now an injured 30-year-old out to prove his speed and quickness wasn't left on the operating table.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000688264/article/keenan-lewis-never-got-along-with-saints-dc-allen

[salamander]

Appears to be damaged goods at this point.

[Rotorhead]

He wasn't that good when he was here. I never understood why he was so hyped up.

Because he was the best CB we had while he was here.

[fansince'76]

He wasn't that good when he was here. I never understood why he was so hyped up.

Agreed. It wasn't like they were letting another Rod Woodson walk.

[BlackAndGold]

767945356818604032

[pczach]

It would make perfect sense to bring him back if they believe he can get back to 100% physically in a relatively short period of time. He could be a bargain.

[BlackAndGold]

If he's healthy(or close to 100%), signing him to a vet min deal would be ideal.

[Drazo85]

He just have to be useful. And that's more than we had last year with Blake. Hope he's healthy enough to play, but I doubt it.

[Shoes]

I think Lewis can barely walk right now - let alone play ball.

Yep, sure don't need another clipboard holder.

[zulater]

Apparently he's in town to see the Steelers. What harm is there in giving him a physical? See where he stand physically. The guy is a player. Even if you see him now and if he's not there yet bring him back in a couple weeks, whatever, but keep this guy on the inventory. I could see him being a help to this team at some point. Obviously it's not a given, but Keenan seems to think he has something left, why not find out?

[stillers4me]

Why are we pulling up old threads to talk about current news????

Please start new threads! Thanks.

[zulater]

Why are we pulling up old threads to talk about current news????


Please start new threads! Thanks.

It his bothers you why not do it yourself? :noidea: Not trying to be disrespectful but Keenan isn't yet a Steeler, and likely wont be again despite the fact the team is giving him what probably amounts to a courtesy look, so I didn't really know if his vistit such as it is was really "thread worthy"? ( Seinfield pun intended :lol: )

[stillers4me]

Because I'm at work on my phone during a break.

There's no need to bring up old news to talk about new news. If a player is visiting, by all means make a new thread. This new thread will post on Twitter bringing in new activity to the site. Plus, more current members are apt to see the news. I myself don't bother opening up year old conversations.

Burying articles in other thread and pulling up ancient threads is slowing down the activity on the site. I'm mentioning now because it's happening A LOT. We can see the activity and this news is being missed. We've made this request before.

[hawaiiansteeler]

Why are we pulling up old threads to talk about current news????

Please start new threads! Thanks.

because when I bumped this old thread Keenan Lewis had yet to schedule a visit with the Steelers, he had merely been released by the Saints so it was pure speculation. should I start a new thread here every single time an ex-Steeler gets released by another team?

[stillers4me]

Yes. We have an entire forum for other NFL news!

[Psycho Ward 86]

You know Keenan just might be a lot healthier than anyone thinks. The main reason for him being cut could be the rift with him and the defensive coaching staff of the Saints. This could be an Eric Weddle situation. If healthy im totally game for this. This would immediately give us a damn good cornerback on the outside to pair with Ross Cockrell, and we could kick Gay back inside where he's at his best (although he showed last season he can play outside damn well in his old age now as well). Senquez also said today that he'll be back in 7 weeks. If that happens, itll be week 6 of the NFL season and we could end up from being super thin and CB to loaded. Lot of things have to fall in place though...

[teegre]

Senquez also said today that he'll be back in 7 weeks. If that happens, itll be week 6 of the NFL season and we could end up from being super thin and CB to loaded. Lot of things have to fall in place though...

I was thinking the same thing.

Keenan plays until week 10, then kablooey!!! straight to IR. Then, Senquez starts from week 11 on.

[tube517]

Why are we pulling up old threads to talk about current news????

Please start new threads! Thanks.
I am guilty of this because I used to be a moderator in a totally different non football forum and we liked all threads within similar topics to stay in same thread to be organized.

Sorry my bad and I understand the reasons why you want new threads here.

Brady is still gay, Goodhell pees sitting down and hippo farts reek throughout.

Sent from my LGMS631 using Tapatalk

[hawaiiansteeler]

Yes. We have an entire forum for other NFL news!

yet when I searched for "Keenan Lewis" this was the thread and the forum that came up...

[Dwinsgames]

everyone does it differently , most like to keep order and streamlined . here they would rather have more because each new thread produced ( redundant or not ) produces an automatic tweet to twitter informing their following of a post here in the forum as a way to drive traffic through the site on a per click basis of the link that tweet provides.

neither way is right or wrong its just a matter of preference ...

you have to pick if you desire added traffic or neat and tidy ...

if someone would only devise a way to do both at the same time we would be all set but sadly at this point its not an option I am aware of

[stillers4me]

everyone does it differently , most like to keep order and streamlined . here they would rather have more because each new thread produced ( redundant or not ) produces an automatic tweet to twitter informing their following of a post here in the forum as a way to drive traffic through the site on a per click basis of the link that tweet provides.

neither way is right or wrong its just a matter of preference ...

you have to pick if you desire added traffic or neat and tidy ...

if someone would only devise a way to do both at the same time we would be all set but sadly at this point its not an option I am aware of

Instead of pulling up a 3 year old thread about a former Steeler signing with Saints, I would have either posted the story about leaving the Saints in the Around the NFL forum....since he's no longer a Steeler. :noidea:

Or.......... make a thread in the Steelers forum that he's now available and should we look at him, yada yada. Mods can always update the thread title as the story changes to him visiting or the original poster can do it.

Any of these options is preferable to pulling up 3 year old threads!!!! Who wants to scroll through several pages of old news to get to the new post?

Honestly, I'm not trying to be petty. We don't want 10 threads about the same topic but there's really a happy medium that's just common sense. Thanks for letting me vent, guys...........it's nothing personal but it's really been bugging me. :frusty:

Imagine been a newbie or a visitor to SU and seeing a bunch of thread titles that make no sense..........stuff that happened years ago. :noidea:

Thread closed. Peace out. :drink: