Morgan Burnett Seeks Steelers Release
Evidently, Morgan Burnett did not enjoy his first season with the Steelers. The veteran safety wants the team to release him before the start of free agency, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports (on Twitter).
Pittsburgh signed Burnett to a three-year, $14.35MM contract early in free agency last year, well before most other safeties of his ilk agreed to deals.
The Steelers’ frequent usage of Burnett as a dime linebacker did not sit well with the longtime Packers safety, with the 30-year-old defender seeking a team that will use him as a pure safety. Burnett started just two of the 11 games he played with the Steelers. He started every game he played as a Packer.
Burnett’s usage (390 snaps) lagged well behind younger Steeler safeties Sean Davis (981 snaps) and first-round pick Terrell Edmunds (968). It would not be a surprise to see the Steelers cut bait on Burnett, but the move will bring a slight cost. It would tag the Steelers with $2.8MM in dead money and save them $3.63MM against the cap if they grant Burnett’s request.
The Steelers brought in Burnett to play closer to the line of scrimmage, but he does not appear to be comfortable in this role. Burnett also missed five games due to injury.
Latest On Roethlisberger Extension
We heard recently that the Steelers were hoping to extend Ben Roethlisberger soon, and now we have confirmation of that. Steelers owner Art Rooney recently confirmed the team intended to get a new deal done for Big Ben soon, per Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com. “That’s certainly something that is on the agenda for this offseason,” Rooney said. Florio then dove into what a potential new contract for Roethlisberger, who has one year left on his current deal, would look like. Florio thinks Roethlisberger and his reps will demand “at least $28 million per year”, and points out that his current deal only paid him an average of $21.85 MM per year, far below market value. He also writes that Roethlisberger could choose to just play it year to year and make the Steelers franchise tag him for the next couple of seasons if they’re unwilling to meet his demands.
NFL Reserve/Futures Contracts: 1/17/19
Here are the latest reserve/futures contract signings from around the NFL. These deals will go into effect on the first day of the 2019 league year, with players joining their respective clubs’ offseason 90-man rosters:
Los Angeles Chargers
New York Giants
Pittsburgh Steelers
- DB Marcelis Branch
Steelers Hire RBs Coach Eddie Faulkner
- The Steelers have hired North Carolina State tight ends/fullbacks/special teams coach Eddie Faulkner as their new running backs coach, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. Faulkner coached current Steelers running back Jaylen Samuels as recently as 2017, and he’ll now have the opportunity to lead both Samuels and James Conner next season. He’ll replace James Saxon, who left to take the same position with the Cardinals.
Latest On Steelers WR Antonio Brown
Steelers owner Art Rooney II made news last week when he admitted it’s “hard to envision” wide receiver Antonio Brown being with the team in training camp following his late-season meltdown, and today Rooney elaborated on Brown and his status with Pittsburgh.
The Steelers have yet to engage in any trade discussions for Brown, Rooney said (Twitter link via Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post Gazette). So far, both the Broncos and 49ers have been mentioned as possible contenders to acquire Brown, but no negotiations have taken place. Trade talks — if they do occur — are more likely to go down near the start of the new league year in March.
Brown isn’t necessarily a goner from the Steelers’ roster, as Rooney says he’s keeping all doors open, per Bouchette. However, there are “not that many signs out there that” Brown is going to offer any sort of apology. Rooney admitted he’s not exactly sure what caused Brown to sit out the Steelers’ final game of the season. “I’m very disappointed in where we are and what happened and don’t have a lot of good explanations for it,” said Rooney, per Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
If Brown is cut or traded before June 1, the Steelers will incur more than $21MM in dead money on their salary cap and gain just over $1MM in new space. If he’s designated as a post-June 1 cut or traded after that date, Pittsburgh will take on roughly $7MM in dead money in 2019 and ~$14MM in 2020.
Steelers’ Ryan Shazier Eyeing NFL Return
Steelers linebacker Ryan Shazier has made tremendous strides in his rehabilitation and wants to continue forward in his recovery with an eye on playing football again, owner Art Rooney says (Twitter link via Ed Bouchette of the Post-Gazette). Shazier’s contract is up, so Rooney says the team would probably have to sign him as a player in 2019 in order for him to do that.
When Shazier was carted off of the field in December 2017, doctors feared that he might never walk again. After months of grueling rehab, Shazier is now able to walk with some assistance. All along, the linebacker has been hopeful about returning to the gridiron.
“There is no ceiling in Ryan’s recovery. He aggressively approaches it every day,” Steelers GM Kevin Colbert said in March of last year. “We support him in every way possible in that endeavor. Where that leads, only he will know and he will determine further down the road. His approach, his mental approach. I can’t tell you how impressive an inspiration he is to us.”
Last May, the Steelers converted $8.26MM of the linebacker’s 2018 base salary into a signing bonus. The move had no cap implications for the Steelers, but it allowed Shazier to collect on the bulk of his pay for the 2018 season immediately rather than waiting for it in increments throughout the year. It sounds like the Steelers are prepared to do right by him once again as he continues on his inspirational journey.
Steelers Fill Mike Munchak's Position
- Speaking of Munchak, the Broncos went beyond their usual offensive line coach budget to bring him over from Pittsburgh, Klis notes (on Twitter). Munchak, who has coached for just two franchises (the Oilers/Titans and Steelers), has family in the area.
- The Steelers promoted Shaun Sarrett to replace Munchak as their O-line coach, the team announced. Sarrett had previously served as the team’s assistant offensive line coach. He has been with the Steelers for seven seasons, helping instruct their offensive linemen for most of that time.
- After the Steelers let running backs coach James Saxon go, he will move to Arizona. The Cardinals are hiring Saxon to coach their running backs, Aditi Kinkabwala of NFL.com reports (on Twitter). He will replace Kirby Wilson and attempt to revive Arizona’s No. 32-ranked ground game. Saxon has 19 years’ experience coaching running backs in the NFL — the past five with the Steelers, where he oversaw Le’Veon Bell‘s rise and James Conner and Jaylen Samuels‘ quality replacement efforts — and should help rookie NFL coach Kliff Kingsbury.
Broncos To Hire Mike Munchak
The Broncos have agreed to terms with Mike Munchak to be their new offensive line coach, according to Mike Klis of 9News (on Twitter). Munchak was the runner-up in their head coaching search before the hiring of Vic Fangio and the club kept in close contact with him as they built out the staff.
The team announced the hire.
Initially, it was believed that Munchak might be a candidate for the offensive coordinator role that was abandoned by Gary Kubiak. Instead, he’s making a lateral move from the Steelers to the Broncos, though he’ll presumably receive a pay bump.
Munchak, 58, has been the Steelers’ offensive line coach since 2014. His contract expired after the 2018 season, so he had no real roadblocks on his way to Denver.
Munchak is widely regarded as one of the league’s best offensive line coaches in the NFL. Under his command, the Steelers’ front five helped transform Le’Veon Bell into a star and vaulted James Conner into the upper echelon of running backs in 2018.
NFL Workout Updates: 1/13/19
Today’s workout updates, all courtesy of veteran NFL reporter Howard Balzer (on Twitter):
Jacksonville Jaguars
- TE Keith Towbridge; CB D.J. Killings
Los Angeles Chargers
- Ks Jon Brown, Marshall Koehn, Blair Walsh
Los Angeles Rams
Pittsburgh Steelers
- T Ryker Mathews; DL Jon Cunningham, Quincy Redmon; LBs Zaire Anderson, Cory James, Matthew Oplinger, Robert Spillane; CB Sojourn Shelton; S Marcelis Branch
2019 Proven Performance Escalators
According to the NFL’s contractual bargaining agreement, players drafted in rounds three though seven are entitled to raises during the fourth year of their respective rookie contracts. The pay bumps are tied to playing time — a player must have played in 35% of his team’s offensive or defensive snaps in two of his first three seasons, or averaged 35% playing time cumulatively during that period.
If one of these thresholds is met, the player’s salary is elevated to the level of that year’s lowest restricted free agent tender — that figure should be around $2MM in 2019. Players selected in the first or second round, undrafted free agents, and kickers/punters are ineligible for the proven performance escalator.
Here are the players who will see their salary rise in 2019 courtesy of the proven performance escalator:
Bears: RB Jordan Howard, LB Nick Kwiatkoski
Bengals: LB Nick Vigil
Broncos: G Connor McGovern, S Will Parks, S Justin Simmons
Browns: S Derrick Kindred, LB Joe Schobert
Buccaneers: G Caleb Benenoch, DE Carl Nassib, CB Ryan Smith
Chargers: LB Jatavis Brown
Chiefs: CB Kendall Fuller, WR Tyreek Hill, S Eric Murray, WR Demarcus Robinson
Colts: QB Jacoby Brissett, T Joe Haeg
Cowboys: CB Anthony Brown, DT Maliek Collins, QB Dak Prescott
Dolphins: RB Kenyan Drake
Eagles: CB Jalen Mills, T Halapoulivaati Vaitai
Falcons: LB De’Vondre Campbell, TE Austin Hooper, G Wes Schweitzer
Jaguars: DE Yannick Ngakoue
Jets: LB Jordan Jenkins, CB Rashard Robinson, T Brandon Shell
Lions: C Graham Glasgow
Packers: LB Kyler Fackrell, DE Dean Lowry, LB Blake Martinez, LB Antonio Morrison
Patriots: G Joe Thuney, LB Elandon Roberts
Rams: G Austin Blythe, TE Tyler Higbee
Ravens: DE Matt Judon, OL Alex Lewis, CB Tavon Young
Saints: DT David Onyemata
Steelers: DT Javon Hargrave
Texans: DT D.J. Reader
Titans: S Kevin Byard, WR Tajae Sharpe
OverTheCap.com was essential in the creation of this post. Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.