Another round of minor moves from this evening:
Indianapolis Colts
- Signed: WR Matt Hazel
- Waived: WR Dres Anderson
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Signed: OL Oni Omoile
The Steelers have signed free agent offensive tackle Zach Banner, the club announced today. In a corresponding roster move, Pittsburgh has waived/injured offensive lineman Kyle Meadows.
Banner, an absolutely mammoth human being at 6’9″, 360 pounds, was selected by the Colts in the fourth round of the 2017 draft. However, the USC product didn’t even make it through final cutdowns in Indianapolis, and became the highest rookie draft choice to be waived last year.
Claimed off waivers by the Browns, Banner played just 27 offensive snaps in eight games for Indianapolis before going on waivers again. He was acquired by the Panthers in March, but spent only two months on Carolina’s roster before being cut in May.
At present, the Steelers don’t appear to have any room for another offensive tackle on its 53-man roster. Alejandro Villanueva and Marcus Gilbert are locked in as Pittsburgh’s starters, while Matt Feiler and third-round rookie Chukwuma Okorafor will serve as backups. Banner’s chances with the Steelers, then, likely hinge on whether the club suffers any injuries over the next few weeks.
- Bud Dupree suffered a setback this weekend and is in concussion protocol, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com reports (on Twitter). The Steelers will be without their starting right outside linebacker for a bit, per Fowler, after seeing the fourth-year player start camp strong. Anthony Chickillo and Keion Adams reside as the top backups, per Pittsburgh’s first 2018 depth chart, and will see more time while Dupree is sidelined. Adams was a 2017 seventh-round pick who did not play last season.
The Steelers applied a second-round RFA tender to Chris Boswell in March but don’t appear to want their kicker back under that arrangement this season.
Boswell said negotiations between his camp and the Steelers began this week, Ray Fittipaldo of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports. The fourth-year kicker’s only played for the Steelers, and he stands to be an unrestricted free agent in 2019.
A report last week tabbed Boswell as an extension priority, and the Steelers are following through in hopes of keeping their kicker in the fold long-term. Boswell’s coming off a Pro Bowl season, having made 35 of 38 field goal attempts (including four game-winning tries). He saw all four of his 50-plus-yard attempts sail through the uprights as well.
It will probably take a $4MM-per-year deal (or close to it) for Pittsburgh to lock up the 27-year-old Boswell. Five kickers earn $4MM annually, and the most recent member of that club — the Panthers’ Graham Gano — signed a deal in March that came in above Justin Tucker‘s 2015 contract.
Boswell is attached to that $2.9MM RFA tender price presently. The Steelers, who couldn’t agree to an extension with Le’Veon Bell to reduce his $14.5MM 2018 cap hold, currently have just more than $4MM in cap space.
Today’s minor moves:
Arizona Cardinals
- Signed: LB Cap Capi
- Waived/injured: DE Bryson Albright
Cincinnati Bengals
- Waived: DE Ja’Von Rolland-Jones
Dallas Cowboys
- Signed: OL Korren Kirven, DE Joby Saint Fleur
- Waived: DE James Hearns, RB Trey Williams
Indianapolis Colts
- Signed: G Nick Callender
Los Angeles Chargers
- Signed: CB Channing Stribling, WR Marcus Peterson
- Placed on IR: TE Austin Roberts
New England Patriots
- Waived/injured: G Nate Theaker
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Signed: TE Bucky Hodges, OT Kyle Meadows
- Waived: LB Darnell Leslie, TE Ryan Malleck
Seattle Seahawks
- Signed CB Jeremy Boykins, LB Josh Forrest
- Waived: S Alex Carter, TE Je’Ron Hamm
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Signed: RB Dare Ogunbowale
- Waived: RB Dalton Crossan
- Ben Roethlisberger is down approximately 15 pounds at Steelers camp, with Mark Kaboly of The Athletic noting the 15th-year quarterback weighs 250. Big Ben hinted at retirement following the 2016 season but reaffirmed his commitment to the Steelers after last season concluded. He’s now hinted at being interested in signing another Pittsburgh extension, with negotiations likely set for 2019 (his contract year).
Good news for Steelers fans. Left guard Ramon Foster, who was carted off the practice field yesterday, hyperextended his knee but did not suffer any ligament damage and will not require surgery, as Aditi Kinkhabwala of the NFL Network reports (via Twitter). Kinkhabwala adds that Foster will miss four to five weeks but is expected to be ready for Week 1.
- Ramon Foster has played more Steelers snaps than anyone since the 2009 season (h/t Aditi Kinkhabwala of NFL.com), but he was carted off the practice field Saturday. During a full-contact workout, Stephon Tuitt rolled into Foster’s right leg, per NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport and ESPN.com’s Jeremy Fowler (Twitter links). Mike Tomlin did not elaborate on the issue, only saying that the 10th-year guard is being evaluated for a “lower-body” injury, per CBS Sports’ Jason La Canfora (via Twitter). A Foster loss would represent a major setback for the Steelers. Foster’s a seven-season full-time starter and is in the final year of his deal. Ben Roethlisberger consoled the 32-year-old guard as he was carted away.
- Roethlisberger has shown up to camp in noticeably better shape, with La Canfora noting the Steelers expected their quarterback to show up prepared to earn one final blockbuster extension. Although a report surfaced about the Steelers and Roethlisberger were planning to discuss a re-up this offseason, the 15th-year quarterback said he didn’t want to do a deal before this season. But he’ll be set for a contract year in 2019.
- While the Steelers do, however, have a Chris Boswell extension slotted as a preseason priority, JLC adds the team shouldn’t be expected to make a Joe Haden-style addition before the season. Pittsburgh added the longtime Cleveland cornerback on a $9MM-per-year deal late last summer but holds barely $5MM in cap space presently. Boswell is entering a contract year.
It doesn’t sound like the Steelers are expecting Le’Veon Bell to show for training camp. The franchise-tagged running back, like last year, may well report to his team after the preseason concludes.
The Steelers and Bell could not come to terms on an extension, again, but Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports reports Pittsburgh did offer more than the $10MM guaranteed that was reported last week. Bell did not believe the guaranteed money was sufficient, but La Canfora notes Pittsburgh’s proposal featured “exponentially greater” guarantee figures than $10MM.
This offer was part of a five-year, $70MM proposal, and JLC confirms the $45MM over three years — which would have topped Todd Gurley‘s since-agreed-to deal that will pay him $40MM through 2020 — component of the Steelers’ final offer.
However, a sense among Steelers brass was Bell would turn down any deal proposed, per La Canfora, because of the allure of free agency come March. This is a bold move on Bell’s part, due to his throwback workload (406 touches last season — in 15 games — the most a running back’s accumulated since Chris Johnson in 2009) and injury risk that comes with the Steelers’ brand of usage. But Gurley’s extension provides a clearer road map for a team looking to sign Bell.
La Canfora doesn’t believe the Steelers are expecting Bell to be back in 2019, though the 26-year-old back is expected to communicate with Mike Tomlin and likely new OC Randy Fichtner while he’s away from the team.
Last year, GM Kevin Colbert called for Bell to end his holdout and report in order to make necessary preparations for the season. This year, the longtime Steelers decision-maker isn’t as direct but remains insistent Bell showing up for camp will help him early in the season. Bell struggled out of the starting blocks in 2017, failing to exceed 100 yards from scrimmage in all three of the Steelers’ September games.
“Unfortunately, we have to go through it again,” Colbert said, via La Canfora. “The fortunate part is at the end we will have Le’Veon Bell on our team. Ideally, the earlier he gets here the better it will be for him and obviously for us, because I don’t think he got off to the kind of start (last season) he would have gotten off to had he worked for his team for a week or two, whatever that would have been.
“You just need that timing; you need that football conditioning. He’ll show up and be in great physical condition, but that can never equate to great football conditioning until they go through this.”
Here are today’s minor moves:
Kansas City Chiefs
- Waived: WR Elijah Marks
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Signed: CB Malik Reaves
- Released: OL Bryce Harris