Here are the latest reserve/futures contract signings from around the NFL. These deals will go into effect on the first day of the 2017 league year, with players joining their respective clubs’ offseason 90-man rosters:
Green Bay Packers
New York Jets
Philadelphia Eagles
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Steelers aren’t ready to give up on Karlos Williams. Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports (via Twitter) that the organization has signed the running back to a reserve/futures contract. The NFL also lifted Williams’ 10-game suspension.
After being taken by the Bills in the fifth round of the 2015 draft, Williams showed plenty of promise during his rookie season. In 11 games (three starts), the running back rushed for 517 yards and seven touchdowns on 93 carries, and he added another 11 receptions for 96 yards and a pair of touchdowns. However, Williams showed up overweight to training camp this past season, and he was subsequently handed a four-game suspension for violating the NFL’s substance abuse policy. The Bills ultimately decided to cut the promising running back, and he passed through waivers unclaimed.
Several teams showed interest in Williams, including the Jets and Steelers. Even the Bills were rumored to be considering a reunion. The running back ultimately caught on with Pittsburgh’s practice squad, but he was handed with a 10-game suspension in late November.
Williams could have an opportunity to make the Steelers’ roster next season. Starting running back Le’Veon Bell is expected to return, but backup DeAngelo Williams is also hitting free agency. Considering the veteran is set to turn 34 this offseason, the team could instead look towards the younger Williams, who is still only 23-years-old.
James Harrison intends to return for what would be his age-39 season, Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports. Already the game’s oldest defensive player, the Steelers linebacker concluded his second straight full season after a brief retirement in 2014. A 2017 re-emergence would mark Harrison’s 15th NFL s season.
This comes a year after the enduring linebacker was not ready to commit to returning after last season’s playoff exit. But Harrison said weeks ago, per Dulac, he planned on returning due to how well his body held up late in the regular season when the Steelers deployed him constantly.
Harrison turns 39 in May and does not have a contract with the Steelers, but given the team’s near-constant usage of the ageless pass-rusher down the stretch, it’s likely the sides can work something out if the team feels he can be productive for another year.
He finished with five sacks for the second straight season, this time leading Pittsburgh in that category. Harrison played every snap during the Steelers’ final three regular-season games and was out there on 174 of 198 playoff snaps, making a big impact in the Steelers’ first divisional-round victory in six years by recording a sack and drawing the season’s most notable holding penalty.
The former defensive player of the year joins Lawrence Timmons and Jarvis Jones as UFA Steelers’ backers. The team did not pick up Jones’ fifth-year option last May.
The NFL Players Association has announced all 32 teams’ salary cap carryover amounts for the 2017 season (Twitter link). Next season’s cap figure isn’t yet known, but it’s likely to be in the $165MM range. When that becomes official, it can be added to each team’s carryover amount to determine that club’s official spending room for 2017.
Here are this year’s carryover totals:
When the Steelers restructured the contract of Antonio Brown prior to the 2016 campaign, the club promised Brown that it would extend an offer of a new deal at the conclusion of the season. That agreement is reportedly still in place, and as such, Brown is poised to “cash in,” according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter links), who adds that Brown has a chance to become the highest-paid wide receiver in the NFL.
[RELATED: Pittsburgh Steelers Depth Chart]
Last August, Pittsburgh converted some of Brown’s 2017 base salary into a signing bonus (meaning Brown received more money immediately), but also changed some of Brown’s 2016 base salary into a bonus in order to reduce the salary cap effects. All told, the moves increased Brown’s 2016 cap charge by about $500K. The transaction was largely a show of good faith, as the Steelers did not want to violate their rule of not extending players with more than one year left on their contract.
That internal team precedent won’t come into play this offseason, however, as Brown is only signed through the 2017 season. At present, he is set to earn a base salary of $4.71MM and carry a cap number of $13.618MM. An extension would presumably lower that cap charge, but could also make Brown the most highly-compensated pass-catcher in the league. On an annual salary basis, that honor currently belongs to the Bengals’ A.J. Green ($15MM). In terms of guarantees, the Falcons’ Julio Jones leads the way with $35.5MM.
Wednesday’s minor moves:
New York Giants
New York Jets
Philadelphia Eagles
Pittsburgh Steelers
Last year, when teams came calling for Todd Haley, he said “Thanks, but no thanks.” This time around, the Steelers offensive coordinator would interview for a head-coaching vacancy, if asked, a source tells Mike Florio of PFT. 
[RELATED: Steelers To Franchise Le’Veon Bell, Want To Extend Antonio Brown]
Haley was identified as a potential candidate for the Dolphins early in their search process last year, but his name didn’t surface after that for any openings around the league and that’s presumably because he turned them away. For one reason or another, Haley is now open to a second head coaching stint.
Haley’s first run as a head coach came with the Chiefs. That stint lasted two-and-a-half seasons as KC went 19-26 with one playoff berth. In 2012, Haley joined up with the Steelers and he has restored his image as an offensive guru by steering Ben Roethlisberger & Co. to success, though he does have some of the game’s best weapons at his disposal, including Antonio Brown and Le’Veon Bell.
The Steelers take on Haley’s former team, the Chiefs, on Sunday afternoon. If the Steelers have a deep playoff run, it might be a while before Haley can interview. Of course, that’s also a non-issue until a team actually requests and interview with him. So far, to our knowledge, that hasn’t happened in this cycle.
We heard last month that the Steelers were expected to put the franchise tag on Le’Veon Bell this offseason, and Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reported today that Pittsburgh will indeed franchise their star running back.
The tag will be about $12.3MM for running backs, and after the Steelers use it on Bell, the two sides will have a few months to work out a long-term contract. If they cannot, Bell could play out the 2017 season under the tag and be eligible for free agency again next offseason.
There are complications to a multi-year deal, of course. Bell has a history of off-field trouble, having been been suspended in each of the past two seasons, and he sustained knee injuries in 2014 and 2015. But when he’s on the field, he’s one of the most dynamic playmakers in the game, both as a runner and as a receiver. Despite missing four games this season, Bell ranked first in the NFL in touches per game (28.0) and scrimmage YPG (157.0), and he was second in rushing YPG (105.7). From Weeks 4-16–Bell was suspended for the first three weeks of the season and was rested for the team’s meaningless Week 17 contest–he led the NFL in touches (336) and scrimmage yards (1,884).
It appears that the Steelers are comfortable with Bell’s health and they seem to believe that his off-field issues are behind him, as a long-term deal is considered likely at this point. While Bell is unlikely to reach Adrian Peterson’s record-setting $14MM/year deal, he stands an excellent change of netting an eight-figure annual salary.
Per Rapoport, the Steelers also want to extend wide receiver Antonio Brown, who is under club control for one more season. Brown’s exceedingly club-friendly deal will pay him just $4.7MM next year, quite a bargain for arguably the best receiver in the game. But with substantial raises for Bell and Brown on the horizon, Pittsburgh will need to make some tough decisions elsewhere.