Steelers Make Four Roster Moves
- The Steelers have signed free agent receiver Cobi Hamilton and waived fellow wideout Canaan Severin, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link) and Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com. They also made a pair of moves at tight end, signing free agent Michael Cooper and cutting Jake Phillips (via Mark Kaboly of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, on Twitter).
Latest On Steelers’ Contract Negotiations
While Steelers cornerstones Le’Veon Bell, Lawrence Timmons and Markus Wheaton are all in contract years, the only free agent-to-be the team is negotiating an extension with is guard David DeCastro, reports Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. The Steelers and DeCastro were reportedly making progress in talks as of Wednesday, but Bouchette writes that a deal isn’t close. The deadline for an agreement is the start of the season, which leaves the two sides just over a month to find common ground.
The 26-year-old DeCastro has established himself as one of the core pieces of the Steelers’ offensive line since the team used a first-round pick on him in 2012. DeCastro has started all but one game over the the last three seasons, and he’s coming off a year in which he earned Pro Bowl and All-Pro selections for the first time. DeCastro, whom Pro Football Focus has graded as one of the league’s 20 best guards three years running, is on the Steelers’ books this season for $8.07MM. That’s the cost of the fifth-year option that was included in the 24th overall pick’s rookie deal.
Considering the turbulent year Bell has endured, it’s not surprising that the Steelers aren’t negotiating with him. The star running back is currently preparing to appeal the four-game suspension the NFL handed him in July for a violation of its substance abuse policy. If Bell loses the appeal hearing, which is scheduled for Aug. 18, it’ll mark his second suspension since last season. Bell sat out two games then thanks to an arrest for marijuana possession and DUI, and he missed the final eight contests of the year after tearing his MCL and PCL on Nov. 1. It perhaps didn’t help Bell’s cause that the Steelers’ offense showed well without him, finishing with the eighth-best yards-per-carry average in the league.
Timmons, meanwhile, is about to conclude the $48MM contract he signed with Pittsburgh in 2011. The Steelers have restructured that deal three times, leaving the 30-year-old with an unpalatable $15.1MM cap hit this season. A 2007 first-rounder, Timmons has spent his entire nine-year career in Pittsburgh – where he has racked up 33 sacks (five last season) – but 2016 could be his swan song with the Steelers.
Wheaton, 25, put up a whopping 17.0 yards per catch on 44 receptions and added five touchdowns in 2015. Previously, he amassed a career-high 53 grabs in 2014, though both his YPC (12.2) and TD total (two) were much less impressive. Wheaton is due to collect just over $1.67MM this year, but if he continues to post strong production, a significant raise will come – whether from Pittsburgh or someone else. The fact that Martavis Bryant will miss the entire season because of a suspension could lead to more opportunities and better numbers for Wheaton, who garnered a combined 166 targets over the previous two years.
Unlike the aforementioned players, wideout Antonio Brown isn’t in a contract year, though the elite-caliber weapon would like a deal more in line with his production. After tying for the league lead in receptions (136), finishing second in yards (1,834) and scoring 10 times last season, Brown is slated to earn $6.25MM this year and $8.71MM in 2017. He’s just 18th among receivers in average annual value, but Steelers general manager Kevin Colbert isn’t about to rip his contract up in favor of a richer one.
As was the case last year, the Steelers could advance Brown $2MM of his salary for 2017, notes Bouchette. They would then have the option of awarding him a new contract after the season. Doing that would enable the Steelers to maintain their long-held policy of not negotiating new accords with players who have more than one year remaining on their deals. Quarterbacks are the only exception to that rule, and Ben Roethlisberger is already locked up through 2019.
Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Steelers, Antonio Brown Discuss Contract
The agent for Antonio Brown and Steelers GM Kevin Colbert have begun discussing the wide receiver’s contract situation, ESPN.com’s Jeremy Fowler writes. Brown still has two years to go on his contract but has been pushing for a pay bump. The Steelers, meanwhile, have a policy not to renegotiate with non-quarterbacks until the final year of a player’s deal. 
[RELATED: Steelers, David DeCastro Resume Contract Talks]
“We believe in our philosophy,” Colbert said recently, with regards to the team’s policy. “I don’t see that changing, but I’ll never address a player individually.”
Brown is slated to earn a guaranteed base of $6.25MM this year and $8.71MM in 2017 before potentially hitting the open market. Widely regarded as one of the very best wide receivers in the NFL, Brown is outside of the top ten at his position in terms of pay. In fact, Brown is No. 18 in terms of average annual value, putting him behind the likes of Pierre Garcon, Michael Crabtree, Allen Hurns, Vincent Jackson, and Doug Baldwin.
Last year, the Steelers restructured Brown’s deal to move $2MM of future salary into 2015. While Brown says that he appreciated that gesture, he is looking for something much more meaningful this time. The Steelers certainly want to keep Brown happy, but so far they have been unwilling to set a precedent by reworking his deal so far out from its expiration.
Brown tied for the league lead in receptions (136), finished second in yards (1,834), and found the end zone 10 times last season.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Tomlin: Surgery Likely For Senquez Golson
- Mike Tomlin confirmed Senquez Golson has a Lisfranc injury and that surgery is a likely course of action, Mark Kaboly of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review tweets. Golson could land on IR-DTR, but the Steelers may reserve that spot for another player since the second-year cornerback will be out up to four months. The 2015 second-rounder has yet to play in a regular-season game after missing his entire rookie slate. As Roster Resource shows, 2016 first- and second-rounders Artie Burns and Sean Davis represent the top depth behind William Gay at a position the Steelers invested in heavily this offseason.
Steelers, David DeCastro Resume Contract Talks
The Steelers and guard David DeCastro have made some progress on contract talks after a slow period, according to Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com (Twitter link). The two sides were said to be talking in mid-June, but things were quiet for about six weeks between the two sides. 
With one year left to go on his contract, DeCastro figures to be a priority for Pittsburgh to address, along with star running back Le’Veon Bell. DeCastro, 26, has established himself as one of the core pieces on the Steelers’ offensive line, starting all but one game over the course of the last three seasons. This past season, the 2012 first-round pick earned his first Pro Bowl and first-team All-Pro selections.
Pro Football Focus graded DeCastro as the league’s 14th-best guard in 2013 – out of 81 qualified players – and ranked him 18th of 78 in 2014. Last year, DeCastro was ranked as the 15th best guard in the NFL by PFF with roughly equal grades for his pass blocking and run blocking.
After picking up their fifth-year option on DeCastro, the Steelers have him on their books for a salary of $8.07MM in 2016.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Steelers Sign Phillips, White
- The Steelers signed tight end Jake Phillips and cornerback Kevin White, according to Mark Kaboly of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (on Twitter). To make room, the Steelers waived/injured tight end Mandel Dixon and wide receiver Shakim Phillips.
Steelers Sign Powell, Ume-Ezeoke
- The Steelers added running back Christian Powell and free agent center Valerian Ume-Ezeoke, Mark Kaboly of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review tweets. To make room, running back Brandon Johnson and center Quinton Schooley were cut.
Le’Veon Bell Appeal Ruling To Come By Aug. 18
In a matter of weeks, the Steelers should know whether they’ll have the services of Le’Veon Bell for the first month of the season, according to Alex Marvez of The Sporting News. The Steelers are expecting to find out Bell’s status by August 18, the date of their second preseason game. 
[RELATED: Steelers, Lawrence Timmons Not Close On Extension]
If he is unsuccessful in his appeal, Bell will be suspended for the team’s first four regular-season games following a violation of the league’s substance abuse policy. Of course, this isn’t Bell’s first run-in with the league office. In 2015, Bell was suspended for the first two games of the season due to an arrest for marijuana possession and DUI.
Between Bell’s suspension and injury last season, the tailback appeared in only six games for the Steelers in 2015. Despite Bell’s 10-game absence, the Steelers had the eighth-best yards-per-carry average in the league last season, when DeAngelo Williams amassed 907 yards and 11 touchdowns on 200 carries in his age-32 campaign.
If Bell is sidelined for the first month of the season, the Steelers will likely use Williams as their primary back until he returns. Behind Williams, the Steelers also have backs Fitzgerald Toussaint and Daryl Richardson, as shown on Roster Resource.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Rapoport: A. Brown Eyeing Hopkins Holdout, Situation Bears Watching
Steelers star wideout Antonio Brown has two years left on the five-year, $41MM deal he signed in January 2012, and Pittsburgh typically does not negotiate new deals with non-quarterbacks who have more than one year left on their contracts (although the club did give Brown himself that five-year pact after Brown’s second season in the league). The Steelers may be willing to make an exception to their usual standard operating procedure given how valuable Brown is to the team, and according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com, they may have to.
- Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports weighs in on the Brown dilemma, writing that contract talks are not just moving slowly, there have been no contract talks at all between Brown and the Steelers. La Canfora says he would be surprised if a deal for the kind of money Brown is seeking gets done until after this season.
- Appearing on the Steelers Radio Network, Steelers GM Kevin Colbert discussed Brown’s contract situation. “We don’t renegotiate contracts with more than one year remaining with the exception of quarterbacks. Antonio’s under contract,” Colbert said (via ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler on Twitter). “He’s a great player. You can’t say enough good things about him. But he’s a professional. He respects the process, as do we. We’ll see where things end up.”
Latest On Antonio Brown's Contract
While all-world receiver Antonio Brown is confident that the Steelers will address his contract before the beginning of the regular season, the team is unlikely to rip it up in favor of a new deal, reports Ray Fittipaldo of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. The club could instead advance Brown $2MM in salary for the second straight year and then negotiate a new accord with him at season’s end. However, there is precedent for the Steelers giving Brown a new deal with two years left on it, as Fittipaldo notes. Pittsburgh handed Brown a five-year, $41MM contract after the 2011 season, his second in the NFL. Although Brown is underpaid on his current deal relative to his stellar production, Fittipaldo points out that, between what the Steelers signed him to in 2012 and will award him on his next contract, the 28-year-old will earn far more than many other members of the 2010 draft class (Dez Bryant, for instance).