Almost a year after allowing B.J. Finney to defect to the Seahawks in free agency, the Steelers are bringing him back on a one-year deal. They reached an agreement to re-sign the veteran interior offensive lineman Friday.
Finney played the first four years of his career in Pittsburgh but bounced around in 2020. The Seahawks signed him to a two-year deal but traded him to the Bengals for Carlos Dunlap. The Bengals made him a cap casualty recently.
The Steelers acquired Finney as a UDFA previously and used him as a backup and part-time starter at center and guard from 2016-19. Finney made 13 starts for those Steelers teams and parlayed that spot duty into a two-year, $8MM Seahawks pact. He did not start any games with Seattle and Cincinnati.
Returning ahead of his age-30 season, Finney should help a Steelers team that saw 11-year center starter Maurkice Pouncey retire this offseason. That move came a year after longtime guard Ramon Foster exited the NFL. Finney profiles as a low-cost addition who could play a bigger role than he previously did in Pittsburgh.
Very good signing given the cap constraints. Wouldn’t mind him starting somewhere on the interior.
It’d have to be center. Dotson and decastro are locks. He’s great to have just for his versatility. I think this allows the team to risk a mid round pick on a center, assuming the first rounder is a LT.