Steelers’ Mike Hilton Signs ERFA Deal
Steelers slot cornerback Mike Hilton has been vocal about wanting a long-term deal. He doesn’t have one, just yet, but he did sign his exclusive rights free agent tender.
Hilton lacks leverage and opted against holding out from camp in order to get his way. Still only 25, Hilton may be willing to bet on himself as he plays out a one-year, $645K deal.
“I want to show the team I want to be here and want to be a part of this organization,” Hilton said earlier this summer. “… As players, you feel like of course you want to earn more. Hopefully things work out in the long run, but if not, I’ll do my best to go out there and help this team win.”
The two sides have talked, so a deal could still be on the horizon.
Steelers Sign Mike Tomlin To Extension
Mike Tomlin isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. On Thursday, the Steelers extended their head coach through the 2021 season, per a team announcement. 
“I am very appreciative of this contract extension and opportunity and want to thank Art Rooney II and everyone in the organization for the support in my first 12 seasons,” Tomlin said. “We have a goal of winning the organization’s seventh Super Bowl championship, and I couldn’t be more excited about this upcoming season.”
The Steelers pride themselves on consistency and have had only three head coaches since 1969. There was some speculation about Tomlin’s job security after the Steelers missed the playoffs last year, but the team clearly has confidence in him as a leader.
This season may prove to be Tomlin’s most challenging yet – he’ll look to get the Steelers back into contention without the services of superstars Le’Veon Bell and Antonio Brown.
NFL Supplemental Draft Order
The NFL’s Supplemental Draft order does not go by the inverted win/loss records of clubs. Instead, the order is dictated by a weighted lottery that uses a team’s win percentage as just part of the equation. Here, via Tom Pelissero of NFL.com (Twitter link) is the complete order of the supplemental draft:
1. Lions
2. Broncos
3. Jets
4. Cardinals
5. Giants
6. Bills
7. Raiders
8. 49ers
9. Jaguars
10. Packers
11. Bengals
12. Bucs
13. Falcons
14. Vikings
15. Redskins
16. Titans
17. Dolphins
18. Steelers
19. Panthers
20. Browns
21. Ravens
22. Patriots
23.Cowboys
24. Seahawks
25. Eagles
26. Texans
27. Bears
28. Colts
29. Saints
30. Chiefs
31. Chargers
32. Rams
The supplemental draft is conducted via email. If multiple teams submit a pick for the same player in the same round, this order dictates which club gets the player. Of course, any team picking a player in the supplemental draft will sacrifice the corresponding pick in the 2020 draft.
Feiler Isn't A Lock To Start For Steelers?
- Marcus Gilbert, the Steelers‘ longtime right tackle, was traded to the Cardinals this spring. That means the Steelers will have a new right tackle, and most have assumed it’ll be Matt Feiler. Feiler filled in for an injured Gilbert, and ended up starting ten games last year. But while he’s the favorite, Feiler isn’t taking it for granted and is insisting it’ll be an open competition. “I’m not by any means the starter,” Feiler said earlier this offseason, per Mike Prisuta of the team’s official site. “Anytime you’re out here, you’re getting pushed by the younger guys.” “It’s up for grabs,” he added. “It’s going to be a tough battle.” While the comments are interesting and suggest we may have to pay attention to the position in camp, it would still be a surprise if Feiler isn’t starting Week 1. While he took the majority of first-team reps, Prisuta does note that he rotated some with 2018 third-round pick Chukwuma Okorafor during spring work. Feiler is a 2014 undrafted free agent from Bloomsburg University, who had only started one game before last year.
Latest On Ryan Shazier's Recovery
- David Furones of the South Florida Sun Sentinel explores the relationship between Steelers linebacker Ryan Shazier and his high school teammate, trainer, and close friend, Jerome Howard. Howard has been with Shazier throughout his recovery and has assisted him in his efforts to get back to the playing field. The piece is well-worth a read, especially for Steelers fans, as it also details the remarkable progress that Shazier has made. A return to football is still a long way off, but he has already overcome tremendous odds just to be walking again, let alone exercising the way he is.
Steelers K Chris Boswell On Roster Bubble
Chris Boswell has spent the past four seasons with the Steelers, but his tenure in Pittsburgh could be coming to an end. In his 53-man roster predictions, Mark Kaboly of The Athletic writes that the veteran kicker isn’t a shoo-in to make the team.
The 2014 undrafted free agent out of Rice had stops with the Texans and Giants before joining the Steelers in 2015. Boswell quickly became a mainstay of the Steelers’ special teams unit, appearing in 58 regular season games over the past four years. The 28-year-old was more-than-solid during his first three years with Pittsburgh, including a 2017 campaign where he earned a Pro Bowl nod.
However, Boswell struggled mightily in 2018. The kicker connected on only 65-percent of his field goal attempts, and he also converted a subpar 89.6-percent of his extra point chances. The front office reworked Boswell’s contract back in May, delaying his $2MM bonus until after the club’s final preseason game (the kicker was originally set to collect the bonus in March). This buys the Steelers some extra time as they evaluate the position, while Boswell gets a chance at redemption.
If the Steelers do decide to move on from Boswell, the team could turn to Central Florida rookie Matthew Wright. However, Kaboly says it’s more likely that the team pursues whichever free agent is cut loose during the preseason.
While there are question marks surrounding the Steelers’ kicker, the rest of their special teams unit seems set. Kaboly writes that punter Jordan Berry and long snapper Kameron Canaday are “secure.”
This Date In Transactions History: Steelers’ Shaun Suisham Retires
Three years ago today, Steelers kicker Shaun Suisham was forced to hang ’em up. Once one of the league’s most accurate kickers, Suisham suffered a setback in his recovery from an ACL tear and did not feel that he could return to his previous form. 
From 2012-2014, Suisham sank 91.6% of his field goal tries. But, in the 2015 Pro Football Hall of Fame Game, Suisham went down with a serious knee injury, costing him the entire season.
“My journey in the NFL has come to a crossroads,” Suisham said in a statement. “I was raised in Wallaceburg, Ontario, as a hockey player and have been on an improbable 16-year journey as a kicker, competing at the highest level. The absolute nature of my position has given me the opportunity to test my resolve, and I have grown both professionally and as a man. Undoubtedly, I will miss the challenge of game day and the preparation that is required. Change is hard, but I’m comfortable with where I am in life as a husband and father.”
While Suisham was out, a young kicker by the name of Chris Boswell stepped up and proved to be just as precise. In his first NFL season, Boswell made 90.6% of his field goals, including both of his attempts from 50+ yards out. The Steelers were hoping to give Suisham the opportunity to regain his job, but the battle was over before it could really heat up.
This offseason, the Steelers could be on the verge of another kicking change. Despite a strong rookie season and a stellar 2017 that resulted in his first ever Pro Bowl nod, Boswell is on the bubble after posting a dismal 65% field goal percentage in 2018.
Release Candidate: Artie Burns
The Steelers surprised their fair share of draft pundits when they selected Artie Burns in the first round of the 2016 NFL draft, and Burns has not done much to prove his doubters wrong over his first three seasons in the league. His strongest season was his rookie campaign, when he notched three interceptions despite starting just nine games.
He could not build on that performance, though, and he struggled with coverage in 2017 and lost his starting job in 2018, appearing primarily on special teams in the second half of the season. Pittsburgh has not had great success in drafting quality corners in recent history, and as of right now, Burns looks like another example of those difficulties.
The Steelers’ decision to not exercise Burns’ 2020 option was something of a no-brainer, given that it would have been worth just shy of $10MM and would have been guaranteed for injury. And earlier this month, Ed Bouchette of The Athletic opined that the club may cut Burns before it’s required to pay him an $800K roster bonus on the first day of training camp.
However, Mark Kaboly of The Athletic suggested just a few days ago that if the Steelers haven’t cut Burns yet, they are likely to keep him around this year. Kaboly did note his belief that 2019 would be Burns’ last hurrah in Pittsburgh.
But just by looking at the financials, it would seem that Bouchette’s take on the situation may be more accurate. If the Steelers cut Burns prior to training camp, they would not only save the $800K roster bonus, but they would also create roughly $1.8MM of cap space. That is not an insignificant amount for Pittsburgh, which currently has just over $1MM of cap room. Although the team has wrapped up its 2019 draft class, it will certainly need to create more space at some point just to conduct regular business during the season, and their already small amount of space will become even smaller when the Rule of 51 is no longer applicable.
And while it may not seem wise to cut a young former first-rounder who plays a premium position just to save some cap space, the Steelers bolstered their CB corps with free agent Steven Nelson and third-round draft choice Justin Layne. The club is also higher on Mike Hilton and Cam Sutton than it is on Burns, and Joe Haden serves as the team’s No. 1 corner. So Burns is at best the sixth corner on the depth chart, which makes him a fringe player that could be cut at any time.
If he is still on the roster by the time he is due the $800K bonus, then the Steelers clearly will give him one more chance. But it would not be surprising to see him searching for a new team before training camp.
Berhe Had Contact With Steelers
Nat Berhe had a disappointing season in Pittsburgh last year. The safety signed with the Steelers last April, was released at final cuts, and then re-signed before Week 1. He was a minor contributor on defense and special teams for a few weeks, before landing on injured reserve with a pec injury. Berhe remains a free agent now, and he recently told Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com that he had “some early contact” with the Steelers this offseason (Twitter link).
Berhe also told Fowler that he’s open to returning to the Steelers in 2019, but for now he’s “focused on adding size” before landing in a training camp. A San Diego State product, Berhe originally entered the league as a fifth round pick of the Giants back in 2014. He spent the first four years of his career in New York before signing a one-year, $790K deal with the Steelers. It’s not shocking that teams haven’t exactly been beating down his door to sign him.
Mike Hilton On Steelers Status
- Two years after Alejandro Villanueva‘s situation, the Steelers have another ERFA who has been a regular contributor. Slot cornerback Mike Hilton has been vocal about wanting a long-term deal. He does not have much leverage, but his situation is different from Villanueva’s. The left tackle was late entering the NFL and was 29 when he lobbied for a new contract — what turned out to be a three-year, $24MM deal. Hilton is 25 and could bet on himself by playing for $645K. While he is voicing displeasure now, it doesn’t sound like the former UDFA is too upset with the Steelers. “I want to show the team I want to be here and want to be a part of this organization,” Hilton said, via ESPN.com’s Jeremy Fowler. “… As players, you feel like of course you want to earn more. Hopefully things work out in the long run, but if not, I’ll do my best to go out there and help this team win.”