Steelers To Re-Sign Roosevelt Nix
Exclusive rights free agent Roosevelt Nix is re-signing with the Steelers, his agent, Bill Parise, told Jacob Klinger of PennLive.com. Nix will ink a one-year deal worth $615K – a mild increase over the $525K he made in 2016.
Nix, 24, originally signed with the Falcons as an undrafted linebacker in 2014. The ex-Kent State Golden Flash switched to fullback in an effort to make the team, but it didn’t work. Nix then spent some of the 2014 season in the Arena Football League before catching on as a fullback in Pittsburgh in 2015.
Nix has only received four touches – all receptions – in two years as a Steeler, though he has appeared in 25 regular-season games and amassed five starts. He was in on 9.2 percent of the Steelers’ offensive snaps and 38.2 percent of their special teams plays in 2016. If Nix makes the team again next season, indications are he’ll continue to block for star running back Le’Veon Bell – albeit on a limited basis.
NFL Reserve/Futures Contracts: 1/25/17
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 club’s offseason 90-man rosters:
Denver Broncos
New Orleans Saints
- LS Jesse Schmitt (two-year deal)
New York Giants
- OL Adam Gettis
- OL Michael Bowie
Pittsburgh Steelers
- RB Gus Johnson
- RB Brandon Brown-Dukes
- RB Dreamius Smith
- CB Mike Hilton
- OL Keavon Milton
- OL Matt Feiler
- S Jacob Hagen
- WR Marcus Tucker
- WR Dez Stewart
Steelers Notes: Roethlisberger, Williams
- While Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is considering retirement, it will be a surprise if the 13th-year man doesn’t return in 2017, sources told Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com (Twitter link). In the seemingly likely event Roethlisberger does come back for his age-35 season, the Steelers should still give serious thought to using a high-round pick on a potential successor, opines Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk.
- It appeared the NFL had lifted running back Karlos Williams‘ 10-game suspension when the Steelers brought him back on a reserve/futures deal Monday, but that’s not the case. Williams still has one game remaining on the substance abuse-related ban the league handed him in November, tweets Fowler. He’ll be eligible to take the field again in Week 2 of next season.
Ben Roethlisberger Mulling Retirement
There is a chance that Pittsburgh’s 36-17 loss to New England in Sunday’s AFC title game will go down as the final contest of Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger‘s career. In an interview with 93.7 The Fan in Pittsburgh, Roethlisberger was unwilling to commit to returning in 2017 for what would be his age-35 season.
“I’m going to take this offseason to evaluate, to consider all options,” he said (via CBS Pittsburgh). “To consider health, and family and things like that and just kind of take some time away to evaluate next season, if there’s going to be a next season.”
This isn’t the first time Roethlisberger has told Mike Tomlin he’s contemplated retirement after a season, Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette tweets. Tomlin, though, said he’s taking this seriously but isn’t alarmed or surprised by the indecision, Bouchette relays (Twitter links).
If there isn’t a next season for Roethlisberger, it would heavily affect the Steelers and the rest of the NFL, of course. Pittsburgh has regularly been a league superpower since it drafted Roethlisberger 11th overall in 2004, having finished with no fewer than eight wins during any of his 13 seasons and gone to the playoffs nine times. Two of those postseason trips have culminated in Super Bowl victories, the latest of which came at the conclusion of the 2009 campaign.
Roethlisberger has missed a combined six games because of injuries over the past two seasons, but his production has remained strong. He’s now fresh off his fifth Pro Bowl season, in which he completed 64.4 percent of his 509 passing attempts, amassed 3,819 yards on 7.5 YPA, and tossed 29 touchdowns against 13 interceptions.
In the two games Roethlisberger sat out in 2016, the Steelers turned to backup Landry Jones, who has been a mixed bag in 15 career appearances and also isn’t guaranteed to return to the club next season. Unlike Roethlisberger, Jones is set to become a free agent. Roethlisberger has three years remaining on the contract extension he signed in 2015. He’d owe the Steelers $18.6MM if he were to walk away, according to Jason Fitzgerald of Over the Cap (Twitter link), which makes an early exit seem unlikely.
NFL Reserve/Futures Contracts: 1/23/17
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
- C Jacob Flores
- OLB Reggie Gilbert
- WR Antwan Goodley
- LB Derrick Mathews
- G Lucas Patrick
- DT Brian Price
- S Jermaine Whitehead
New York Jets
Philadelphia Eagles
Pittsburgh Steelers
Steelers Sign RB Karlos Williams To Reserve/Futures Contract
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.
Le'Veon Bell Injured Groin Before Pats Game
- Le’Veon Bell said he injured his groin prior to the AFC championship game, Barry Wilner of the Associated Press notes. The franchise tag candidate played just 11 snaps against the Patriots in the Steelers‘ 36-17 loss. He declined to say when exactly he injured his groin this season but acknowledged he didn’t feel right during warm-ups.
James Harrison Plans To Return In 2017
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.
NFLPA Announces Cap Carryover Amounts
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:
- Cleveland Browns: $50,123,269
- Jacksonville Jaguars: $39,314,310
- San Francisco 49ers: $38,708,916
- Tennessee Titans: $24,046,522
- Washington Redskins: $15,055,131
- Carolina Panthers: $13,208,020
- Miami Dolphins: $8,363,708
- Chicago Bears: $8,103,197
- Oakland Raiders: $8,000,000
- Green Bay Packers: $7,984,687
- Philadelphia Eagles: $7,933,869
- Denver Broncos: $7,243,248
- Indianapolis Colts: $6,614,106
- Cincinnati Bengals: $6,578,866
- New Orleans Saints: $5,754,000
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers: $5,330,779
- New England Patriots: $5,292,335
- Kansas City Chiefs: $5,002,168
- Houston Texans: $4,935,924
- Detroit Lions: $4,725,644
- Arizona Cardinals: $4,405,068
- Pittsburgh Steelers: $3,269,367
- Buffalo Bills: $2,837,222
- Baltimore Ravens: $2,553,126
- Dallas Cowboys: $2,401,553
- Seattle Seahawks: $2,065,865
- New York Giants: $1,800,000
- Atlanta Falcons: $926,541
- Minnesota Vikings: $400,184
- New York Jets: $371,487
- Los Angeles Rams: $304,311
- Los Angeles Chargers: $113,693
Martavis Bryant "On A Mission To Come Back"
- In the wake of Tuesday’s news that suspended Steelers wide receiver Martavis Bryant will soon apply for reinstatement, agent Thomas Santanello told Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that his client is “clean” and “on a mission to come back” (via Darin Gantt of Pro Football Talk). Bryant, 24, is currently serving his second substance abuse-related ban – this one a yearlong suspension – since he entered the NFL in 2014, but Santanello insists the highly talented offensive weapon has put his drug issues behind him. “He’s working out four days a week, watches film. He’s in the best shape he’s ever been in. He’s added 10 pounds of solid muscle. He’s a new person,” Santanello continued.