The Steelers’ latest free agent signings likely not their last
During the past couple of days, the Pittsburgh Steelers were an active franchise when it came to wheeling and dealing in the NFL free-agent marketplace. Typically, fans are anxious to see who Mike Tomlin and company negotiated with enough to convince a marriage between player and Pittsburgh. Like the Rooneys’ Irish roots had blessed St. Patrick’s Day, the Steelers signed five players within the first 24 hours of free agency on March 17 that very well could make them a championship team in 2022. Despite the latest signings, however, the Steelers likely have not signed their last free agent in this flurry of player movement across the league.
March 16 opened the door to the period for both restricted and unrestricted free agents. On April 22 the door will close for those tagged “restricted” but will remain open until July 22 (or the first scheduled day of NFL training camp, whichever is later) for the “unrestricted.” Without going into the nuances of the NFL free agency period and terminology, the Steelers have actively been talking with guys who want to come to, or remain in, Pittsburgh and don the black and gold.
Say what you will about Kevin Colbert as he mans the helm before he departs after the Draft, the scouts, Coach Tomlin, Art Rooney II, and others in the organization, but the Steelers boldly fortified their roster by signing five players on-site in Pittsburgh on Thursday: quarterback Mitch Trubisky, cornerback Levi Wallace, offensive linemen James Daniels and Mason Cole, and linebacker Myles Jack.
“[My agent and I] went through all of the options… When we found out Pittsburgh had interest, I talked to my agent and said this is where I want to be.” – Mitch Trubisky
Trubisky, Wallace, and Jack signed two-year deals; Cole and Daniels put pen to paper on three-year contracts. Without dipping into accounting, the Steelers managed the salary cap well in order to get these deals done and still have room to keep some negotiations open.
“Once I got on the phone with Coach Tomlin and got to speak with him, the first thing he said is we are trying to win a championship and we need that on defense. Once he said that it was a no-brainer. That’s what I am here to do. That’s all I want to do, get to work and play football.” – Myles Jack
There were four areas of concern for the Steelers as they exited the 2021-22 NFL season.
The first was how to address the quarterback position following Ben Roethlisberger‘s retirement. Talk of allowing Mason Rudolph, Dwayne Haskins, and Joshua Dobbs to fight it out in training camp was unappealing to many Steelers fans. The options in the upcoming Draft, a collegiate quarterback class that looks thin, didn’t really appeal, either. And while fans bickered, begged, and pleaded for big names on the free agency list to be picked via social media, the Steelers organization made a move that looks highly intelligent at this point with the signing of Trubisky. He didn’t eat their entire budget and he’ll still have to duel at least Haskins (who re-signed with Pittsburgh) to earn the starting quarterback position.
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