If Kendricks is signed?...

[GBMelBlount]

How much would it change your opinon of our offseason (FA and draft)?

[Shoes]

How much would it change your opinon of our offseason (FA and draft)?

I'm happy with the draft, Kendricks would be icing on the cake.

[GBMelBlount]

I think it was good also.

[teegre]

Here’s the thing...

Everyone is so focused on not getting an ILB in the draft, when those ILBs had flaws (Kendricks, too).

Roquan Smith is the only one who could have replaced Shazier.

Tremaine Edmunds was poor at diagnosing plays. He’s big & fast, but he needed work (if he ever even reaches that potential). The quintessential “boom or bust”.

LVE was great in coverage, but not so great against the run. Rashaan Evans (who the Steelers tried to trade up for) was great against the run, but lacked coverage ability... and has a history of injuries. Mychal Kendricks is like Evans: good against the run, but poor in coverage.

So... the Steelers have a small ILB/big SS who can absolutely tackle AND cover. Furthermore, since we were in nickel & dime for 70% of the snaps, maaaybe we don’t need a true ILB (maybe we don’t need Kendricks).

[86WARD]

So... the Steelers have a small ILB/big SS who can absolutely tackle AND cover. Furthermore, since we were in nickel & dime for 70% of the snaps, maaaybe we don’t need a true ILB (maybe we don’t need Kendricks).

Exactly what I’ve been saying. How do we know that the position (and depth) isn’t already filled for the scheme they are going to run.

[GBMelBlount]

Really? Because the majority of what I read is that the Steelers screwed the pooch by not drafting an ILB.

I mean we are getting C draft grades BECAUSE we did not (ostensibly) directly address this?

Are these just knee jerk reactions by pundits who are not examining our draft and FA acquistions closely enough?

I understand time will tell, but it is the offseason and this is the one lingering question it seems.

[Mojouw]

Really? Because the majority of what I read is that the Steelers screwed the pooch by not drafting an ILB.

I mean we are getting C draft grades BECAUSE we did not (ostensibly) directly address this?

Are these just knee jerk reactions by pundits who are not examining our draft and FA acquistions closely enough?

I understand time will tell, but it is the offseason and this is the one lingering question it seems.

Simple Answer: Yes.

Complicated Answer: Yes.

[El-Gonzo Jackson]

Is any NFL team completely satisfied with the entire starting 11 on defense? Do they think there are positions that require upgrading and there just isn't the player there to upgrade? Do any and all of those teams still field a team on Sundays and go out and play football?

The Steelers can go after Kendricks and if they don't have the $$ to make it happen, they can either go with who they have until somebody that is a better fit is available, or they can save $$ by cutting Vance McDonald(but then you have less talent at TE) or try to restructure another contract. I think he would be an upgrade, but am not that optimistic it will happen and they may end up filling the ILB spot with guys on the roster currently.

[GBMelBlount]

Is any NFL team completely satisfied with the entire starting 11 on defense? Do they think there are positions that require upgrading and there just isn't the player there to upgrade? Do any and all of those teams still field a team on Sundays and go out and play football?

The Steelers can go after Kendricks and if they don't have the $$ to make it happen, they can either go with who they have until somebody that is a better fit is available,

or they can save $$ by cutting Vance McDonald(but then you have less talent at TE) or try to restructure another contract.

I think he would be an upgrade, but am not that optimistic it will happen and they may end up filling the ILB spot with guys on the roster currently.

What would cutting McDonald save, $4 mil?

Personally, because we are so loaded on offense, I think we will gain a lot more on defense than we would lose on offense.

Plus, I think we may even be able to throw Samuels into the TE mix?

[st33lersguy]

Offseason would definitely get better and I would definitely feel better about the LB corp

[El-Gonzo Jackson]

What would cutting McDonald save, $4 mil?

Personally, because we are so loaded on offense, I think we will gain a lot more on defense than we would lose on offense.

Plus, I think we may even be able to throw Samuels into the TE mix?

Yeah, save something like $4.3 in cap by cutting McDonald. I'm not a huge fan, but I think the TE position is rather weak for the Steelers.

Still, upgrade the ILB spot and downgrade the TE position? Samuels isn't a TE really, at just under 6 ft and 225lbs that isn't a very impressive blocker. Its an option though.

[steelreserve]

Really? Because the majority of what I read is that the Steelers screwed the pooch by not drafting an ILB.

I mean we are getting C draft grades BECAUSE we did not (ostensibly) directly address this?

Unfortunately, I don't think there was a great way to address ILB in the draft other than ill-advised gambles; the top players were gone and the cards just did not fall our way. I wouldn't call it a bad draft for that reason, but there are more ways to address a position than just the draft. Maybe Bostic turns out to be great, but I've still got a pretty shaky feeling about that position.

Is any NFL team completely satisfied with the entire starting 11 on defense? Do they think there are positions that require upgrading and there just isn't the player there to upgrade? Do any and all of those teams still field a team on Sundays and go out and play football?

The Steelers can go after Kendricks and if they don't have the $$ to make it happen, they can either go with who they have until somebody that is a better fit is available, or they can save $$ by cutting Vance McDonald(but then you have less talent at TE) or try to restructure another contract. I think he would be an upgrade, but am not that optimistic it will happen and they may end up filling the ILB spot with guys on the roster currently.

I mean, you're never going to have 11 star players, but this was a pretty critical flaw with our defense last year. You don't want to go into the season with a problem like that, the kind that can cause a cascading failure across the whole defense. It wasn't an Antwon Blake level of problem, but it was close.

The money part is a question for Kendricks, no doubt about it. We can probably move enough money around with existing contracts to make it work, but it'll be a tight squeeze. I don't want to cut McDonald - doing that instantly makes the TE position the same as ILB. People keep bringing him up over and over as some huge potential cap-savings candidate, but a) $4 million is not a hell of a lot by NFL standards, and b) he is absolutely worth that much IMO if he can stay on the field, probably more than that. It would be hard to find a better value player for $4M in other words, just have to hope we're not unlucky again with injuries. We probably try it again for one more year and if the same thing happens, he won't be back.

[GBMelBlount]

A nice little piece on the pros and cons of signing Hendricks.

I really think it will come down to price.

Mychal Kendricks had a strong six-year run with the Philadelphia Eagles that came to an end Tuesday when he was released. The move was based on a two principal factors: money and playing time. The Eagles are so overwhelmingly loaded with talent that some players who deserve big jobs are forced onto the bench. When those players are making big money, the Eagles are better served letting them walk and reallocating that money elsewhere. Their star-studded roster is already pretty expensive, and will only grow pricier when players like Carson Wentz, Jay Ajayi, Brandon Graham and Jordan Hicks come up for new deals next offseason.

The Eagles prioritized those players and others over Kendricks, which sent him into free agency at an unusual time. For the most part, veterans are released early in the offseason or not until the end of training camp and the preseason. If a team believes in a player enough to keep them beyond March, it serves them to at least keep around training camp as an extra body if possible. But it seems the Eagles wanted to do right by Kendricks. He served the team well and deserves a chance to play somewhere else, and he will get it.

The Pittsburgh Steelers are a team that is thrown around pretty often in Kendricks rumors, just as they are with any other linebacker who hits the market this offseason because of the loss of Ryan Shazier. Pittsburgh's defense collapsed without its leader last season. Could Kendricks replace Shazier? Not fully. There are good reasons to both sign and avoid him, all of which will be detailed here.

SLIDE
1 of 8
PRO: HE'S A VERY GOOD LINEBACKER

The highest profile linebacker that the Steelers signed this offseason was Jon Bostic, a borderline starter at best and something of a draft bust. Kendricks is certainly a level or three above him. He started from the moment he reached the NFL and deservedly so. He is solid against both the run and the pass at his best, and is schematically flexible having played in both a 4-3 and 3-4. He works with Vince Williams. He works with Terrell Edmunds. There is very much a plug-and-play feel to Kendricks. He should be able to contribute to whatever team signs him, and the Steelers have so much talent around him that he would be maximized. The logic can be very simple here. Kendricks is a good player. So add him.

SLIDE 2 of 8

CON: BUT NOT GOOD ENOUGH TO SAVE HIS JOB

(Continued)

https://247sports.com/nfl/pittsburgh...8/#118465138_1

[Fire Goodell]

The game is changing and 70% of the time we don't even use a base defense. Shazier was great because he didn't have to leave the field in subpackages, he was like having both a safety and a linebacker. With 2 of the drafted safeties pushing 220+, either would just have to be 10 lbs to be Shazier's size. I honestly think Edmunds was drafted to be that Shazier replacement.

[hawaiiansteeler]

Jordan Schultz@Schultz_Report

Mychal Kendricks is visiting the #Vikings, #Raiders and #Browns this week, per source. We can expect Kendricks to make his decision this week as well, source adds.

https://twitter.com/Schultz_Report?r...Ctwgr%5Eauthor

[tube517]

Jordan Schultz@Schultz_Report

Mychal Kendricks is visiting the #Vikings, #Raiders and #Browns this week, per source. We can expect Kendricks to make his decision this week as well, source adds.

https://twitter.com/Schultz_Report?r...Ctwgr%5Eauthor

Dirty Red is looking like Phil Kessel there.

[BlackAndGold]

Dirty Red is looking like Phil Kessel there.

[GBMelBlount]

If only we could sign him for a song.

[hawaiiansteeler]

Browns to sign Mychal Kendricks

Posted by Michael David Smith on June 3, 2018

At a time when free agent signings have slowed to a trickle, the Browns are still bolstering their defense.

Free agent linebacker Mychal Kendricks will sign a one-year deal to play the 2018 season in Cleveland, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports.

Kendricks had a busy week last week, visiting the Browns as well as the Vikings and Raiders. He was released by the Eagles the week before and immediately started drawing interest.

to read rest of article:

https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.co...hal-kendricks/

[BlackAndGold]

1 year deal? better hope Bostic and Matakevich are good.

[st33lersguy]

Cleveland has actual players.

- - - Updated - - -

1 year deal? better hope Bostic and Matakevich are good.

Definitely

[86WARD]

AFC North will be between the Steelers and Browns.

[GBMelBlount]

Are the Steelers missing the boat with Mychal Kendricks?


At first glance, free-agent linebacker Mychal Kendricks appears to be just the type of player the Pittsburgh Steelers have been looking for. So why don’t the Steelers seem interested?

(Continued)

https://www.behindthesteelcurtain.co...ree-agent-news

[Mojouw]

Every writer is making the starting assumption that Kendricks is a 3 down guy. Yet all football people seem to see him as a 2 down linebacker. His former team demoted him for guys who covered better. For 2 years the entire league failed to trade for him. Now no one wants to sign him. Pretty easy to read between the lines. The player has a view on his role and value that few NFL teams agree with.

So the question is how good is Kendricks compared to Bostic and VW? None of these articles seem to address that. Furtger, what is the $$$ amount of any talent gap?

[El-Gonzo Jackson]

Every writer is making the starting assumption that Kendricks is a 3 down guy. Yet all football people seem to see him as a 2 down linebacker. His former team demoted him for guys who covered better. For 2 years the entire league failed to trade for him. Now no one wants to sign him. Pretty easy to read between the lines. The player has a view on his role and value that few NFL teams agree with.

So the question is how good is Kendricks compared to Bostic and VW? None of these articles seem to address that. Furtger, what is the $$$ amount of any talent gap?

Interest goes both ways. Maybe the Steelers were interested and had discussions with Kendricks agent and maybe the dollars were not going to be there for enough interest by Kendricks.

I believe we are thinking the same here. Kendricks was linked to talking with the Browns, Raiders and a couple others. Kind of the organizations with some work to get back to completion. He didn't seem to be talking with teams like the Steelers, Patriots, Packers and was cut from the SB Champions.

Moving on. Just moving on.

[teegre]

Every writer is making the starting assumption that Kendricks is a 3 down guy. Yet all football people seem to see him as a 2 down linebacker.

Mychal Kendricks is like Evans: good against the run, but poor in coverage.

[Mojouw]

https://www.behindthesteelcurtain.co...overage-part-1

Not too bad. Not earth shattering either, but we are talking about a LB. Respectable.

So for like no money this season or next, Bostic can do the stuff in the link. Is Kendricks 5 times better than that? 4 times? Because that is what he wants.

[hawaiiansteeler]

https://www.behindthesteelcurtain.co...overage-part-1

Not too bad. Not earth shattering either, but we are talking about a LB. Respectable.

So for like no money this season or next, Bostic can do the stuff in the link. Is Kendricks 5 times better than that? 4 times? Because that is what he wants.

Kendricks signed a 1 year contract for a max value of $3.5 million...

[Mojouw]

Kendricks signed a 1 year contract for a max value of $3.5 million...

That does not seem to be the case. At least someone has not told Kendricks that fact...

https://deadspin.com/mychal-kendrick...s-s-1826522182

http://www.rotoworld.com/player/nfl/...chal-kendricks

[hawaiiansteeler]

That does not seem to be the case. At least someone has not told Kendricks that fact...

https://deadspin.com/mychal-kendrick...s-s-1826522182

http://www.rotoworld.com/player/nfl/...chal-kendricks

Jordan SchultzVerified account

@Schultz_Report

#Browns and LB Mychal Kendricks have agreed to a one-year deal, with a max value of $3.5 million, per source. Kendricks will start from day one for Cleveland.

5:33 PM - 3 Jun 2018

https://twitter.com/Schultz_Report/s...34647978696705