- The Steelers have interest in re-signing veteran tight end David Johnson, reports ESPN.com’s Jeremy Fowler. Johnson played in 16 games (five starts) during his first season in Pittsburgh, collecting seven receptions for 80 yards.
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Less than 24 hours before the start of the NFL’s legal tampering period, conflicting reports have emerged regarding Browns wide receiver Terrelle Pryor. While Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com indicates the Steelers will be one of several teams to pursue Pryor this week, Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Twitter link) says Pittsburgh doesn’t have any interest in Pryor, at least at the $10MM+ he’s expected to command. The Giants, 49ers, Eagles, and Titans have also been linked to Pryor, whom Cleveland is attempting to re-sign.
- Not a team that traditionally opts for free agency splashes, the Steelers are interested in signing Bengals UFA corner Dre Kirkpatrick, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. The Titans do not share the same type of hesitancy when it comes to the market, and Rapoport notes they are also interested in the sixth-year cover man. The Steelers covet Kirpatrick’s length as a 6-1 corner, Aditi Kinkhabwala of NFL.com tweets. Kirkpatrick said in December he would like to stay in Cincinnati, but nothing’s emerged on that front since. PFR’s Dallas Robinson rates the former first-rounder as the No. 5 corner available in free agency.
- The Steelers placed an original round tender on restricted free agent cornerback Ross Cockrell, a source tells Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com (on Twitter). A fourth-round pick of the Bills in 2014, Cockrell has started the last two years for Pittsburgh and is now free negotiate with other teams. However, the Steelers reserve the right to match any offer. Cockrell is slated to play 2017 on the low tender, which should be worth roughly $1.8MM.
Offensive tackle Ryan Harris inked a two-year, $3.9MM deal with the Steelers in free agency last March. Twelve months later, he’s retiring, according to Cameron Wolfe of the Denver Post (Twitter link).
Harris, who will turn 32 on March 11, only appeared in five games and didn’t record any starts in his lone season in Pittsburgh. Despite that, he told Mike Klis of 9News that playing for the Steelers “was a dream come true.” The Steelers placed Harris on injured reserve in early October on account of a shin issue. Injuries were long problematic for Harris, who underwent three back surgeries and dealt with other ailments during his career, as Klis notes.
“It’s been a long journey,’’ Harris told Klis. “You have to overcome injuries. That’s the NFL. The injury rate is 100 percent. You have to have belief, you have to have a great surgeon, you have to have belief in yourself. You have to take the small increments, the changes in your flexibility for months. You have to take it in stride and it made me a better professional and it made me a better man.”
Prior to joining the Steelers, Harris logged a combined 110 appearances and 70 starts with the Broncos, Texans and Chiefs. The majority of his work came in Denver, which selected the ex-Notre Dame standout in the third round of the 2007 draft. Harris started in 50 of 62 appearances as a Bronco, with whom he had tenures from 2007-10 and 2015. In his second stint with the Broncos, the 6-foot-5, 299-pounder started every game and collected a Super Bowl ring.
“Everything I had been through to everything we had accomplished was phenomenal,” Harris said of Denver’s latest championship-winning team.
Continued Harris: “I’ve really worked hard to put my family in a good place for retirement. I’ve been planning for this since Day 1 in the NFL. I’m fortunate. Not that many guys get the chance to retire. This is that time.’’
While the Steelers have prevented running back Le’Veon Bell from reaching free agency, it doesn’t appear they’ll be able to keep their other unsigned players from hitting the open market. The club isn’t close to re-signing any of its free agents-to-be as March 9 approaches, two sources told Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
The Steelers’ list of unrestricted players includes linebackers Lawrence Timmons and Jarvis Jones, running back DeAngelo Williams, quarterback Landry Jones and wide receiver Markus Wheaton, among others. Pittsburgh began talks with Timmons in February, but it will be a challenge to stop the productive defender and careerlong Steeler from heading elsewhere for his 11th NFL season.
“Would you like to have him stay? Absolutely,” general manager Kevin Colbert said in regards to Timmons last month. “Does it all fit? We can make it work, but at what cost? He’s never been a free agent. I’d like to see him finish his career here and he would too.”
Although Jarvis Jones has disappointed since going in the first round of the 2013 draft, having totaled only six sacks in 50 appearances, he’s likely to encounter a favorable market, per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link).
As is the case with Timmons, Colbert has indicated he’d like to have Landry Jones stick around, though it might behoove the four-year veteran to look for a clearer path to playing time someplace else. Jones appeared in a combined 15 games the past two seasons, but barring retirement, Ben Roethlisberger is entrenched as the Steelers’ starting signal-caller.
As for Bell, the Steelers aren’t in any rush to start talks on a long-term deal with the franchise-tagged running back, per Dulac. That runs contrary to a Thursday report from NFL.com’s Aditi Kinkhabwala, who relayed that the two sides are “heavy into negotiations.” The Steelers have until July 15 to lock up Bell.
The Steelers are heavy into negotiations with running back Le’Veon Bell on a long-term deal, Aditi Kinkhabwala of NFL.com hears (on Twitter). She adds that there is a very good chance the deal will set the market for running backs. Among rushers with multiyear contracts, the Bills’ LeSean McCoy paces the NFL in total value ($40.05MM) and annual average ($8.01MM), while the Cowboys’ Ezekiel Elliott is atop the league in guarantees (~$25MM). Thanks to his designation as the Steelers’ franchise player, Bell is currently slated to lead all backs in salary next season ($12.12MM).
- On another note relevant to the Steelers’ offense, the club has expressed interest in soon-to-be free agent quarterback Mike Glennon, according to Jason Cole of Bleacher Report (Twitter link). It’s fair to say Glennon won’t end up in Pittsburgh, though, unless Ben Roethlisberger decides to retire by the opening of free agency. Glennon’s current team, Tampa Bay, has tried to keep him at $8MM per year, but he’ll get more money and a chance to start on the market.
- The Steelers have applied the right-of-first-refusal tender (worth $1.797MM) to restricted free agent offensive tackle Chris Hubbard, tweets Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com. As a result, the Steelers will have the ability to match any offer Hubbard might receive from another club, but they wouldn’t be entitled to draft pick compensation if they were to let him walk. Hubbard, 25, is a three-year veteran with 24 appearances on his resume. He picked up the first four starts of his career and notched a personal-best 15 appearances last season.
The deadline to designate franchise or transition players for 2017 has passed. Here’s the rundown of the players that were tagged, plus the candidates that did not receive the designation:
Franchise players (exclusive):
- Le’Veon Bell, RB (Steelers): $12.12MM (story)
- Kirk Cousins, QB (Redskins): $23.94MM (story)*
Franchise players (non-exclusive):
- Melvin Ingram, LB (Chargers): $14.55MM (story)
- Trumaine Johnson, CB (Rams): ~$16MM (story)*
- Chandler Jones, LB (Cardinals): $14.55MM (story)
- Jason Pierre-Paul, DE (Giants): $16.934MM (story)
- Kawann Short, DT (Panthers): $13.387MM (story)
*second tag; players receive raise over designated salary for position tender
Candidates who didn’t receive tags:
- A.J. Bouye, CB (Texans)
- Stephon Gilmore, CB (Bills)
- Dont’a Hightower, LB (Patriots)
- Alshon Jeffery, WR (Bears)
- Dontari Poe (Chiefs)
- Terrelle Pryor, WR (Browns)
- Ricky Wagner, OT (Ravens)
- Brandon Williams, DT (Ravens)
James Harrison has a new two-year deal with the Steelers, according to his agent, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com tweets. Harrison has since confirmed his return via Instagram. 
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Even at his advanced age, we ranked Harrison as the sixth-best edge defender eligible for free agency late last month. In his age-38 season, Harrison totaled 53 tackles and five sacks. Now on the cusp of his 39th birthday, Harrison has signed a new deal that should allow him to retire as a member of the Steelers.
With the exception of the 2013 season, Harrison has spent his entire career in Pittsburgh. From 2007-2011, Harrison earned five consecutive Pro Bowl nods and was also given two First-Team All-Pro selections.
The advanced metrics were also fond of his play last year as Pro Football Focus ranked him as the 11th best edge defender in the NFL out of 109 qualified players. Harrison was equally strong in pass rush and run defending situations and also earned the highest mark of any qualified edge defender for coverage.