4 free agents the Steelers should consider before training camp

[hawaiiansteeler]

4 free agents the Steelers should consider before training camp

By: Curt Popejoy

This has been a particularly active offseason for the Pittsburgh Steelers. They’ve made multiple moves in free agency and had a fascinating draft haul. But with just weeks before the start of training camp, there are still more moves that could be made. There is a ton of young talent on the roster but you can’t undersell the importance of a few key veteran additions.

Here are four veteran free agents the Steelers could consider before training camp gets started:

https://steelerswire.usatoday.com/20...training-camp/

[steelreserve]

I would certainly support bringing in help at linebacker, whether it's a pass rusher or ILB. We're dreadfully thin at both spots.

Maybe I'm in the minority, but I feel like McDonald is absolutely worth his salary if we get a full season out of him. We don't need to go searching, we just need to NOT be unlucky.

WR would be a waste; either we can make a go of it with the guys on the roster already or we're doing something wrong.

[Mojouw]

Nothing like getting older and more expensive. Sound roster strategy right there.

Gallette hasn't had a good year in 3 full seasons due to injury or the consequences from those injuries.

Ayers is a 32 year old DE who doesn't play OLB and is likely too small to play DE in a 3-4.

Julius Thomas has been ravaged by injuries and is no longer able to seperate or run away from defenders. The entire reason anyone thought he was a good TE.

All of this information is commonly available on Google.

[st33lersguy]

Gallette and Ayers would still be an upgrade over anything they have at OLB outside of Watt. Yeah, Ayers is not the best and Gallette has been injured but at least they provide more depth and would be better than doing nothing at the position. (Still have no idea why OLB has been ignored thus far)

Thomas hasn't done anything outside of 2 years with Peyton Manning and if they add a TE, they need to add a starting caliber one

As for Decker, they don't need another WR and his commanding salary would be too high for a no. 4 WR

[El-Gonzo Jackson]

McDonald counts $4.3million against the cap this season. Not really the end of the world and they missed an opportunity to upgrade the positon so far. Not sure Thomas is an upgrade, but could be a cost savings. I think adding somebody to the OLB group would be fine. Would have to workout someone like Galette to see if he is worth signing.

McDonald had 3 drops on 24 targets this season and that has been the knock on him the past few seasons. I still think when you compare him to guys at TE with 3 drops, like Eric Ebron(86 targets), Jermane Gresham 46 targets), Gronk (105 targets), Delanie Walker 111 targets), Vernon Davis 69 targets)....he still is a guy with suspect hands at TE.

[86WARD]

Hard pass. Who else?

[DesertSteel]

Nothing like getting older and more expensive. Sound roster strategy right there.

Gallette hasn't had a good year in 3 full seasons due to injury or the consequences from those injuries.

Ayers is a 32 year old DE who doesn't play OLB and is likely too small to play DE in a 3-4.

Julius Thomas has been ravaged by injuries and is no longer able to seperate or run away from defenders. The entire reason anyone thought he was a good TE.

All of this information is commonly available on Google.

Don't forget his opinion that we can’t rely on Washington at WR so we need to sign Decker!

[Mojouw]

Need to remember, these guys are on the market for a reason. In an off-season where multiple teams had record cap $$$ to spend, no one signed any of these guys. Why? Because NFL teams know them best and they know that all of these dudes are likely far closer to washed up than being valuable contributors, let alone starters. Galette is mulling retirement rather than the offers he has had so far according to multiple reports. Thomas simply can't run anymore. Ayers doesn't drop in to coverage and has never racked up enough sacks/pressure to be a "pass rush specialist". I would rather have Jaylen Samuels or McDonald run Erick Decker's routes. If nothing else they are cheaper and younger.

Sorry, for two posts saying basically the same thing. These types of "articles" just really get my goat. They are just basically skimming a free agent list and then being like, "Let's pick a handful of guys most readers had on their fantasy roster 4 years ago."

I mean Terell Owens caught passes at Josh Rosen's Pro Day and claims he still has the skills to get open against NFL DB's. Should the Steelers take the gamble? Click here to find out!

As ridiculous as that is, it is still far more interesting than Julius Thomas and Erick Decker.

[hawaiiansteeler]

Sorry, for two posts saying basically the same thing. These types of "articles" just really get my goat. They are just basically skimming a free agent list and then being like, "Let's pick a handful of guys most readers had on their fantasy roster 4 years ago."

I mean Terell Owens caught passes at Josh Rosen's Pro Day and claims he still has the skills to get open against NFL DB's. Should the Steelers take the gamble? Click here to find out!

As ridiculous as that is, it is still far more interesting than Julius Thomas and Erick Decker.

[Dwinsgames]

Need to remember, these guys are on the market for a reason. In an off-season where multiple teams had record cap $$$ to spend, no one signed any of these guys. Why? Because NFL teams know them best and they know that all of these dudes are likely far closer to washed up than being valuable contributors, let alone starters. Galette is mulling retirement rather than the offers he has had so far according to multiple reports. Thomas simply can't run anymore. Ayers doesn't drop in to coverage and has never racked up enough sacks/pressure to be a "pass rush specialist". I would rather have Jaylen Samuels or McDonald run Erick Decker's routes. If nothing else they are cheaper and younger.

Sorry, for two posts saying basically the same thing. These types of "articles" just really get my goat. They are just basically skimming a free agent list and then being like, "Let's pick a handful of guys most readers had on their fantasy roster 4 years ago."

I mean Terell Owens caught passes at Josh Rosen's Pro Day and claims he still has the skills to get open against NFL DB's. Should the Steelers take the gamble? Click here to find out!

As ridiculous as that is, it is still far more interesting than Julius Thomas and Erick Decker.

you should inherently know better than that considering the author of the piece and knowing him and what he puts into his work

whats wrong with the take that we should not count on a rookie 2nd round pick to be an instant success ? it happens all the time where guys take a year or two to acclimate to the NFL and some never do even 2nd round picks with off the chart work ethic and all ... worst case scenario Decker pushes Hunter or DHB off the roster

whats wrong for wanting to look at a TE who could save you money and produce equal results ?

whats wrong with adding competition to a weak group at OLB at a budget price and letting the competition sort itself out by the play provided ?

sorry if I fail to see the lack of effort on Curts part here , roster configuration at a savings proving the same or better results is never a bad thing and getting a look at some guys isnt either


as a side note I can still hear Mike Mayock saying Ayers was his favorite player in the draft some years ago

[Mojouw]

you should inherently know better than that considering the author of the piece and knowing him and what he puts into his work

whats wrong with the take that we should not count on a rookie 2nd round pick to be an instant success ? it happens all the time where guys take a year or two to acclimate to the NFL and some never do even 2nd round picks with off the chart work ethic and all ... worst case scenario Decker pushes Hunter or DHB off the roster

whats wrong for wanting to look at a TE who could save you money and produce equal results ?

whats wrong with adding competition to a weak group at OLB at a budget price and letting the competition sort itself out by the play provided ?

sorry if I fail to see the lack of effort on Curts part here , roster configuration at a savings proving the same or better results is never a bad thing and getting a look at some guys isnt either


as a side note I can still hear Mike Mayock saying Ayers was his favorite player in the draft some years ago

I've always loved BigCurt's draft stuff and respect the amount of work and detail he has put into stuff. I honestly blame Steelerswire more than Curt. I think that the site is clearly demanding daily new content and content designed to generate clicks/views. As a result, most of the stuff on the sight is throw it at the wall and see what sticks kinds stuff with out any details and/or analysis. Same with basically 80% of the stuff the gets posted at Steelers Depot or Behind the Steel Curtain, or your football site of choice. I get that there is not enough actual news and information to generate 3-5 new stories each day of the year. I can only imagine the pressure the authors or "content creators" at these sites feel to generate things that will drive traffic to the site. It must be terrible. All that being said, this isn't a good list of players relative to the Steelers needs.

[86WARD]

There are better free agents out there than the ones he listed in that article.

Look at the safety market. There’s 3-4 players that can come in to a few teams and start immediately and are affordable. There’s WRs better than Eric Decker on the market, Dez, Maclin and let’s not forget, they traded a better one away, so,why sign Decker, who is a downgrade from what they traded away? I’d also sign Marcedes Lewis way before Julius Thomas if you are looking for a 30 or over guy. IMO, Coby Fleener is a better answer if you are dying to replace McDonald.

[BlackAndGold]

If they sign any Free Agents, I expect it'll be re-signing Eli Rogers and Arthur Moats.

[st33lersguy]

Here's the thing though, the linebacking corp as it stands now is fine if their goal is to get embarrassed during the playoffs again. If their goal is to win or at least make it to the Super Bowl, they need to add more depth and do their best to make their linebacking corp better by adding the best players they can.

[86WARD]

We don’t know that they didn’t do that already.

[Mojouw]

Here's the thing though, the linebacking corp as it stands now is fine if their goal is to get embarrassed during the playoffs again. If their goal is to win or at least make it to the Super Bowl, they need to add more depth and do their best to make their linebacking corp better by adding the best players they can.

While we have no idea if these guys are any good, the team has revamped the LB corps.

Out: Moats, Harrison, Spence
In: Bostic, Adams, Thomas, and count one of the 97 safeties on the roster as a LBer.

Are any of the 3 brought in going to be improvements? Remains to be seen. But it isn't like they didn't do anything. However, I remember a stretch where they churned the bottom of the barrel each year to "improve" the OL. That didn't go well.

[cubanstogie]

Mychal Kendricks is available, he would have to take pay cut I’m pretty sure

[st33lersguy]

While we have no idea if these guys are any good, the team has revamped the LB corps.

Out: Moats, Harrison, Spence
In: Bostic, Adams, Thomas, and count one of the 97 safeties on the roster as a LBer.

Are any of the 3 brought in going to be improvements? Remains to be seen. But it isn't like they didn't do anything. However, I remember a stretch where they churned the bottom of the barrel each year to "improve" the OL. That didn't go well.

Bostic is a depth player, which is fine if you are adding more of them, but they didn't. Thomas is just an undrafted free agent and Adams is just a 7th round pick from last year, the odds of those guys amounting to nothing is far greater than the odds that they do anything. Also they need more at LB than a couple of safeties that could possibly play LB in theory.

[hawaiiansteeler]

Mychal Kendricks is available, he would have to take pay cut I’m pretty sure

Mychal Kendricks Released by Eagles After 6 Seasons

ROB GOLDBERG

"Meanwhile, Kendricks is "not expected to be unemployed long," per Schefter.

The veteran has started 74 of the 85 games he has played since entering the league in 2012, finishing last season second on the team with 77 tackles. He was especially effective when dropping into coverage, but Pro Football Focus showed he can also rush the passer when asked:

He will have plenty of time to find a new destination before the start of the season and should have no problem earning a starting role in 2018."

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/...fter-6-seasons

[pczach]

Bostic is a depth player, which is fine if you are adding more of them, but they didn't. Thomas is just an undrafted free agent and Adams is just a 7th round pick from last year, the odds of those guys amounting to nothing is far greater than the odds that they do anything. Also they need more at LB than a couple of safeties that could possibly play LB in theory.

I believe Bostic is more than a depth player. I think he will surprise you when you see him in this defense. IMO, he's faster and more athletic than Vince Williams. He can lay the lumber in the running game and run sideline to sideline. He is also better in coverage than Williams. I think he will be a good player here.

Now, if they are able to sign Kendricks, and Bostic does become a depth player or takes Williams' job......they will really be on to something and have a talented, deep ILB corps.

[hawaiiansteeler]

I believe Bostic is more than a depth player. I think he will surprise you when you see him in this defense. IMO, he's faster and more athletic than Vince Williams. He can lay the lumber in the running game and run sideline to sideline. He is also better in coverage than Williams. I think he will be a good player here.

Now, if they are able to sign Kendricks, and Bostic does become a depth player or takes Williams' job......they will really be on to something and have a talented, deep ILB corps.

I agree with you, Bostic started in 14 regular season games last year and recorded a career high 97 tackles to go with three passes defensed, a sack and a fumble recovery. I think he's going to pleasantly surprise a lot of people.

and if we are somehow able to pull off signing Kendricks, then we'd finally have the overall depth at each of the LB position we've been looking for: Kendricks and Bostic at Mack ILB, VW and Matakevich at Buck ILB, Watt and Keion Adams at weakside OLB and Dupree and Chickillo at strongside OLB.

[IowaSteeler927]

I agree with you, Bostic started in 14 regular season games last year and recorded a career high 97 tackles to go with three passes defensed, a sack and a fumble recovery. I think he's going to pleasantly surprise a lot of people.

and if we are somehow able to pull off signing Kendricks, then we'd finally have the overall depth at each of the LB position we've been looking for: Kendricks and Bostic at Mack ILB, VW and Matakevich at Buck ILB, Watt and Keion Adams at weakside OLB and Dupree and Chickillo at strongside OLB.

Kendricks would be nice but I don't see it happening.

[hawaiiansteeler]

Kendricks would be nice but I don't see it happening.

I agree, I believe the Steelers are perfectly content entering the season with VW and Bostic as the starters and Matakevich as the primary backup with Edmunds/Burnett/Allen as the hybrid dime lLBers...

[Mojouw]

This is likely going to be a decision taken out of the Steelers hands. Assume they want Bostic and VW to start. Means Kendricks would have to agree to come here as a back-up/role player. The exact situation he has loudly wanted out of in Philly for several seasons. Additionally he would have to go from making $6 million a year to something like $2.5-3 million per year (not getting more than Bostic or VW from the Steelers). Neither of these makes the Steelers attractive to the player. There will be a team out there that will give him $5 million or so and a chance to start.

New England makes sense. Jags if they can scrape the cash together. Bungles might even be interested.

[DesertSteel]

This is likely going to be a decision taken out of the Steelers hands. Assume they want Bostic and VW to start. Means Kendricks would have to agree to come here as a back-up/role player. The exact situation he has loudly wanted out of in Philly for several seasons. Additionally he would have to go from making $6 million a year to something like $2.5-3 million per year (not getting more than Bostic or VW from the Steelers). Neither of these makes the Steelers attractive to the player. There will be a team out there that will give him $5 million or so and a chance to start.

New England makes sense. Jags if they can scrape the cash together. Bungles might even be interested.

Thing is that Bostic's money is essentially backup money - $4M/2YR. If they think Kendricks is better, why not jump on it and offer him the chance to start if he wins the job? I really couldn't tell you who was better as I'm not that familiar with either.

[Mojouw]

Thing is that Bostic's money is essentially backup money - $4M/2YR. If they think Kendricks is better, why not jump on it and offer him the chance to start if he wins the job? I really couldn't tell you who was better as I'm not that familiar with either.

That might work. He does have the lowest cap hit between VW, Bostic, and the hypothetical deal that Kendricks is hunting for.

[DesertSteel]

That might work. He does have the lowest cap hit between VW, Bostic, and the hypothetical deal that Kendricks is hunting for.

I have a feeling that they feel about the ILB position the same way they did about TE last year. All indications were that they were going to go with James as the primary TE, but when McDonald became available via trade they jumped on it. Perhaps a similar approach will be taken with ILB this year. I suspect that more names will become available due to salary as the preseason progresses.

[86WARD]

This is likely going to be a decision taken out of the Steelers hands. Assume they want Bostic and VW to start. Means Kendricks would have to agree to come here as a back-up/role player. The exact situation he has loudly wanted out of in Philly for several seasons. Additionally he would have to go from making $6 million a year to something like $2.5-3 million per year (not getting more than Bostic or VW from the Steelers). Neither of these makes the Steelers attractive to the player. There will be a team out there that will give him $5 million or so and a chance to start.

New England makes sense. Jags if they can scrape the cash together. Bungles might even be interested.

49ers as well.

[hawaiiansteeler]

This is likely going to be a decision taken out of the Steelers hands. Assume they want Bostic and VW to start. Means Kendricks would have to agree to come here as a back-up/role player. The exact situation he has loudly wanted out of in Philly for several seasons. Additionally he would have to go from making $6 million a year to something like $2.5-3 million per year (not getting more than Bostic or VW from the Steelers). Neither of these makes the Steelers attractive to the player. There will be a team out there that will give him $5 million or so and a chance to start.

New England makes sense. Jags if they can scrape the cash together. Bungles might even be interested.

Eagles cut OLB Mychal Kendricks

The Eagles had been trying to find a trade partner for Mychal Kendricks all offseason, but they've finally thrown in the towel. The cap-strapped team finally cut Kendricks, who was owed close to $6 million in 2018.

Though the Eagles couldn't trade Kendricks, the talented linebacker will surely generate heavy interest based on how well he performed in 2017. He can play in both the 4-3 and 3-4, but would probably be better in the 4-3 formation.

Here are some teams that could sign Kendricks:

Pittsburgh Steelers: The Steelers don't have much cap space ($6 million) or they'd be higher on this list. They're desperate for talented linebackers.

http://walterfootball.com/nflpossibilities.php

[Mojouw]

Eagles cut OLB Mychal Kendricks

The Eagles had been trying to find a trade partner for Mychal Kendricks all offseason, but they've finally thrown in the towel. The cap-strapped team finally cut Kendricks, who was owed close to $6 million in 2018.

Though the Eagles couldn't trade Kendricks, the talented linebacker will surely generate heavy interest based on how well he performed in 2017. He can play in both the 4-3 and 3-4, but would probably be better in the 4-3 formation.

Here are some teams that could sign Kendricks:

Pittsburgh Steelers: The Steelers don't have much cap space ($6 million) or they'd be higher on this list. They're desperate for talented linebackers.

http://walterfootball.com/nflpossibilities.php

Yeah and even that $$ # is wrong. Unless something's changed, once you do all the arcane cap math and in-season contingencies, I've seen the cap # more like somewhere between $2 million under and $2 million over.

Kendricks would require and extension/restructure somewhere.