Today’s minor moves:
Miami Dolphins
- Re-signed (exclusive rights free agent): T Zach Sterup
New York Jets
- Re-signed (ERFAs): OL Ben Braden, S Doug Middleton
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Re-signed (ERFA): OL Matt Feiler
Ben Roethlisberger is going to sign a new contract with the Steelers, but it doesn’t sound like anything is imminent. Pittsburgh’s GM Kevin Colbert told reporters today talks were “still ongoing”, according to Aditi Kinkhabwala of NFL Network (Twitter link).
Interestingly, Colbert also acknowledged the fact that Roethlisberger’s career is entering it’s final stage. “This is probably his last contract as an NFL player, so it’s significant,” Colbert said. Roethlisberger is 37 now, and whatever deal he does end up signing will end up taking him into his early 40’s. Roethlisberger has flirted with retirement a few times in the past, but appears set to sign a huge new extension that will keep him around at least a few more years.
With Le’Veon Bell and Antonio Brown no longer on the books, the Steelers suddenly have a lot more money they can use to lock up Roethlisberger. Big Ben started all 16 games last year, the first time he had done that since the 2014 season. The Steelers had a down season as a team and didn’t make the playoffs last year, but Roethlisberger led the league in passing yards. He also led the league with 16 interceptions.
Roethlisberger has faced a lot of criticism recently for his alleged calling-out of teammates, but Colbert doesn’t think it will effect things. “I don’t think that will bother him. I think Ben is very comfortable in who he is, what he has done and what he can still do. I don’t think it will affect him,” Colbert said, according to a tweet from Mark Kaboly of The Athletic.
The Steelers are going to have another high profile departure. Pittsburgh plans to release safety Morgan Burnett sometime before April 1st, according to Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com.
Pittsburgh is still attempting to trade Burnett, as general manager Kevin Colbert explained to Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post Gazette (Twitter link). But if the Steelers aren’t able to find a trade partner willing to take on Burnett, Colbert confirmed the club will release the veteran defensive back.
According to Burnett’s agent, the safety requested the move. A source told Fowler that “the team and player discussed trade possibilities before the release.” We heard a couple of months ago that Burnett was unhappy and wanted to be released, and now he’s getting his wish, although a bit later than he had hoped.
The safety market has been very active and was crowded to begin with, and there are still some big names available like Tre Boston and Eric Berry. As such, Burnett might have to wait a little while before finding a new home. Burnett apparently wanted to be released because he didn’t like that the Steelers were playing him at linebacker at times, and wanted to go to a team where he could be a full-time safety again.
When the move becomes official, Burnett will have made it just one year into the three-year, $14.5MM pact he signed last March. Burnett is 30 now, and not the player he once was with the Packers. He also missed five games with injury last year, and four games the year before that. Th 2010 third round pick had six passes defended and 30 tackles last year in his part-time role, although he did still receive slightly above average marks from Pro Football Focus.
- Justin Houston didn’t appear to be on the Steelers‘ radar before signing with the Colts earlier today, tweets Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com. Indianapolis gave Houston $24MM over a two-year term, and that $12MM annual average was likely to pricey for Pittsburgh, which only has about $7MM in available cap space. While Houston would have been a solid addition for the Steelers, they don’t necessarily need any pass-rush help. Pittsburgh tied for first in sacks (52) in 2018 and ranked first in adjusted sack rate, and will bring back T.J. Watt, Bud Dupree, and Anthony Chickillo next season.
Cornerback Mike Hilton doesn’t plan to immediately sign his exclusive rights free agent tender as he waits for a new, long-term deal from the Steelers, per Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com (Twitter link). As an exclusive rights free agent, Hilton has no leverage with Pittsburgh: he can either accept a minimum salary pact from the Steelers, or decide not to play football in 2019. ERFAs and restricted free agents do hold one advantage over other young players who were drafted, however, as they can receive extensions after only two seasons (drafted players must wait at least three years). One of the better slot corners in the league, Hilton has appeared in 31 games over the past two seasons, posting three interceptions and five sacks during that span. He doesn’t plan to miss any offseason work as he pushes for a new contract, per Fowler.
Here’s a quick look at the AFC North:
- The Jets landed linebacker C.J. Mosley in free agency, but the Ravens went as high as $14MM/year to keep him in Baltimore, according to Albert Breer of The MMQB (Twitter link). Mosley’s new Jets deal, meanwhile, will pay him an average of $17MM/year with $51MM guaranteed.
- The Steelers restructured the contract of inside linebacker Vince Williams, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com tweets. The move clears $2.8MM in 2019 cap space for Pittsburgh, but Williams is still due $5.1MM for the coming year. Just last summer, Williams re-upped with the Steelers on a three-year add-on worth upwards of $20MM. In 2018, Williams finished out with 4.5 sacks, 76 tackles, and one interception.
- Former Jaguars tight end James O’Shaughnessy visited the Steelers this week, as Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets. The Steelers recently lost Jesse James in free agency, so O’Shaughnessy could be a depth option behind starter Vance McDonald. O’Shaughnessy, 27, set new career highs with 24 catches for 214 yards last season. He still only has one touchdown catch in his four NFL seasons, a 2017 TD against the 49ers.
Here are the latest details from some agreed-upon contracts during the second wave of free agency. All links courtesy of the Houston Chronicle’s Aaron Wilson, unless otherwise noted.
- Mark Ingram, RB (Ravens): Three years, $15MM. $6.5MM guaranteed. $4MM signing bonus. $500K of $4MM 2020 base salary is guaranteed, per Wilson (on Twitter).
- Terrell Suggs, LB (Cardinals): One year, $10MM. $7MM guaranteed. $4MM signing bonus. $3MM 2019 base salary (link).
- Donte Moncrief, WR (Steelers): Two years, $9MM. $3.5MM signing bonus. $5MM due in 2019, per Tom Pelissero of NFL.com (on Twitter).
- J.R. Sweezy, G (Cardinals): Two years, $9MM. $3MM signing bonus. $1.5MM 2019 base salary; $3.5MM 2020 base (link).
- Jake Ryan, LB (Jaguars): Two years, $8MM. $1MM guaranteed. $500K signing bonus. Non-guaranteed $5.5MM option due on the 22nd day of the 2020 league year (link).
- Adarius Taylor, LB (Browns): Two years, $5MM. $1MM signing bonus (link).
- Mychal Kendricks, LB (Seahawks): One year, $4.5MM. $2MM base salary. $250K training camp bonus. $250K bonus for being on Seattle’s 53-man roster in Week 1. $1MM in incentives (playing time, sacks), Wilson tweets.
- Shaquil Barrett, LB (Buccaneers): One year, $4MM. $3MM guaranteed. $1MM in incentives for playing time, sacks (link).
- Tyler Eifert, TE (Bengals): One year, $4MM. $1.2MM signing bonus. $1MM base salary; $2.5MM incentives related to catches, yards and touchdowns (Twitter link).
- Dwayne Harris, WR (Raiders): One year, $1.6MM. $275K signing bonus. $400K incentive based on return average (link).
- Kevin White, WR (Cardinals): One year, $1.5MM. $400K signing bonus. Max value: $2.5MM, per Pelissero (on Twitter).
- Dan Bailey, K (Vikings): One year, $1MM. $250K guaranteed. $1MM incentive based on field goal success rate (link).
- Cedric Ogbuehi, T (Jaguars): One year, $895K. $90K signing bonus (link).
- Antone Exum, S (49ers): One year, $855K. $50K signing bonus (link).
- Eli Rogers, WR (Steelers): Rogers’ 2018 contract tolled; he is due $720K in 2019 (link).
- The Steelers‘ acquisition of Mark Barron will likely not preclude them from using another early-round pick on a linebacker, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Gerry Dulac (on Twitter). Pittsburgh did not elect to devote significant resources to replacing Ryan Shazier last year but has used four first-round picks on linebackers since 2013 — Jarvis Jones, Shazier, Bud Dupree and T.J. Watt. Shazier’s unfortunate circumstances may again prompt the Steelers to use a first-round choice on an off-ball ‘backer.
- Eli Rogers‘ latest Steelers contract is for two years, not one, the team announced. The auxiliary receiver may have a bigger role in Pittsburgh’s 2019 offense, considering Antonio Brown is out of the picture and Rogers is entering an offseason healthy. He tore an ACL in the Steelers’ 2017 divisional-round game and only played in three games last season.
The Steelers have agreed to sign linebacker Mark Barron to a two-year, $12MM deal, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
Barron, 29, was released by the Rams earlier this month in a move that saved Los Angeles $6.5MM in cap space. He was due a $5MM base salary and a $3MM roster bonus in 2019, so Barron won’t recoup his single-season earnings under his new contact with the Steelers.
A former safety, Barron was traded from the Buccaneers to the Rams during the 2014 campaign. In each of his first two full seasons with Los Angeles, Barron posted at least 100 tackles, and compiled 16 tackles for loss in 2016. The No. 7 overall selection in the 2012 draft, Barron has 104 appearances and 93 starts under his belt.
Pittsburgh is in need of help at inside linebacker, as neither Vince Williams nor Jonathan Bostic graded as a top-40 LB league-wide in 2018, per Pro Football Focus. Specifically, the Steelers needed to reinforce their second-level pass defense after ranking 31st in DVOA against opposing tight ends and 15th against running backs, according to Football Outsiders.
The Steelers have only ~$6.8MM in cap space, so Barron’s deal — even if it likely has a cheap cap charge in 2019 — will push them closer to the brink. Given that he was cut, Barron won’t factor into Pittsburgh’s compensatory pick formula.
There was a lot of confusion surrounding Le’Veon Bell and the Steelers last season. It was widely reported during the early part of the season that Bell planned on playing for the Steelers in 2018. The timeline varied but it was consistently reported that Bell planned on showing up sometime after Pittsburgh’s Week 7 bye week. Then he never did, and we never knew what happened, until now. Bell had previously thought he needed to play six games to earn an accrued season and avoid his franchise tag from tolling over to 2019, but then realized that wasn’t the case, he explained in a recent interview with Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com.
Bell had “absolutely intended” to report after Week 7, “but shortly before then, Bell learned that he didn’t need to play any games to hit free agency. Before then, he thought he needed to play six games for an accrued season, but turns out he was free as long as the Steelers didn’t tag him again,” Fowler writes. Bell apparently learned on social media that he wouldn’t have to play, and took the plan to his agent. Bell also revealed that he came close to returning once more, in Week 11.
“‘I was so close to doing it,’ he said. ‘At the same time, I was so torn. Do I go through that? Will they embrace me or will they not? I eventually decided I sat out 10 games, I can sit six more. At the time, the team was malfunctioning, having problems, a lot of blame on me. I didn’t want to come back and not feel welcome,'” Bell said. It won’t change anything, but it’s nice to finally have some clarity on what went down with Bell and the Steelers as he prepares for his new life with the Jets.