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We’re coming to the end of a wild first day in the NFL tampering period for the Pittsburgh Steelers, and the entire NFL in general. We saw the Jacksonville Jaguars overpaying for average receivers all over the place, the Los Angeles Chargers continuing to add defense to stop Russell Wilson, Patrick Mahomes, and Derek Carr, and the Steelers finally signed their quarterback Mitchell Trubisky.
But it looks like the market might be a little soft for a couple of the Steelers key free agents. JuJu Smith-Schuster, Joe Haden and Terrell Edmunds remain on the market, and their names haven’t came up in any real reports. That could be good news for the Steelers because they’re still in the market for a receiver, safety, and cornerback. There were reports early in the day that the Steelers were close to re-signing Ahekllo Witherspoon, but it’s been quite on him since then.
It’s likely that Haden is moving on regardless of what his market value ends up being. Especially if Witherspoon is indeed signed. Haden’s leadership will be missed, but he’s lost a step or possibly two, and the Steelers need to upgrade at cornerback. He also tweeted out some weird good bye message it seemed the other night.
The Steelers are going to eventually get to re-signing Minkah Fitzpatrick to a huge contract, and they’re not going to be able to afford to pay a big name player to step in beside him at the other safety position. Edmunds is reliable, and he’s grown into a solid partner to Fitzpatrick. He also isn’t going to break the bank. Edmunds is likely considered a borderline starter across the NFL, and with good reason, but he’s still growing. In 2021 he put up his best season of his career, recording 8 tackles for a loss while being forced to play at the line of scrimmage a lot. There isn’t a lot of options for the same price as Edmunds, and staying with someone who already knows the defense, and Fitzpatrick is a better choice then signing an outsider with the same potential. The more days on the market, the better the chance he returns. If Edmunds leaves town, it’s been reported that they have interest in former Pitt safety Jordan Whitehead.
Switching gears to the offense, we know Steelers management loves Smith-Schuster. They’ve talked glowingly of him throughout his entire career in Pittsburgh. But Smith-Schuster reportedly wants to play for a big name quarterback. Trubisky is not that guy. Oddly enough though, Smith-Schuster would fit perfectly in an offense with Trubisky. With Ben Roethlisberger retired it’s likely that the Steelers figure out how to pass into the middle of the field again with play action and roll outs. You know who thrives in the middle of the field?
Smith-Schuster.
The Browns also threw a cog into Smith-Schuster’s market by releasing veteran Jarvis Landry. Landry reportedly has a decent market, and one of his suitors is reportedly the Kansas City Chiefs. They Chiefs were also reportedly interested in Smith-Schuster last season, and are believed to still be interested now. But if they sign Landry, it’s one less destination for Smith-Schuster. In all honesty he’s probably sick to his stomach after seeing Christian Kirk sign a contract north of 80 million today.
In four years Kirk has 236 receptions for 2902 yards. Take out last season’s 5 games, and Smith-Schuster has 308 receptions, and 3726 yards in his first four years. Yah, Smith-Schuster got a one-year deal for 8 million last year. Looking at those numbers makes it even worse that the Jaguars gave Kirk so much money. And it makes it even more horrible for Smith-Schuster’s pockets.
Regardless, Smith-Schuster could probably get a 3 or 4 year contract from the Steelers, or at the very least 2 years to stick around. It’s not going to be as much money as he envisioned as he entered the 2020 season set to be a free agent, but it might just be a little more job security than he’s finding out on the open market right now.
Stay tuned, SteelerNation. Tomorrow will surely be another barn burner!
Support SteelerNation by clicking here to read the story..
But it looks like the market might be a little soft for a couple of the Steelers key free agents. JuJu Smith-Schuster, Joe Haden and Terrell Edmunds remain on the market, and their names haven’t came up in any real reports. That could be good news for the Steelers because they’re still in the market for a receiver, safety, and cornerback. There were reports early in the day that the Steelers were close to re-signing Ahekllo Witherspoon, but it’s been quite on him since then.
It’s likely that Haden is moving on regardless of what his market value ends up being. Especially if Witherspoon is indeed signed. Haden’s leadership will be missed, but he’s lost a step or possibly two, and the Steelers need to upgrade at cornerback. He also tweeted out some weird good bye message it seemed the other night.
The Steelers are going to eventually get to re-signing Minkah Fitzpatrick to a huge contract, and they’re not going to be able to afford to pay a big name player to step in beside him at the other safety position. Edmunds is reliable, and he’s grown into a solid partner to Fitzpatrick. He also isn’t going to break the bank. Edmunds is likely considered a borderline starter across the NFL, and with good reason, but he’s still growing. In 2021 he put up his best season of his career, recording 8 tackles for a loss while being forced to play at the line of scrimmage a lot. There isn’t a lot of options for the same price as Edmunds, and staying with someone who already knows the defense, and Fitzpatrick is a better choice then signing an outsider with the same potential. The more days on the market, the better the chance he returns. If Edmunds leaves town, it’s been reported that they have interest in former Pitt safety Jordan Whitehead.
Switching gears to the offense, we know Steelers management loves Smith-Schuster. They’ve talked glowingly of him throughout his entire career in Pittsburgh. But Smith-Schuster reportedly wants to play for a big name quarterback. Trubisky is not that guy. Oddly enough though, Smith-Schuster would fit perfectly in an offense with Trubisky. With Ben Roethlisberger retired it’s likely that the Steelers figure out how to pass into the middle of the field again with play action and roll outs. You know who thrives in the middle of the field?
Smith-Schuster.
The Browns also threw a cog into Smith-Schuster’s market by releasing veteran Jarvis Landry. Landry reportedly has a decent market, and one of his suitors is reportedly the Kansas City Chiefs. They Chiefs were also reportedly interested in Smith-Schuster last season, and are believed to still be interested now. But if they sign Landry, it’s one less destination for Smith-Schuster. In all honesty he’s probably sick to his stomach after seeing Christian Kirk sign a contract north of 80 million today.
In four years Kirk has 236 receptions for 2902 yards. Take out last season’s 5 games, and Smith-Schuster has 308 receptions, and 3726 yards in his first four years. Yah, Smith-Schuster got a one-year deal for 8 million last year. Looking at those numbers makes it even worse that the Jaguars gave Kirk so much money. And it makes it even more horrible for Smith-Schuster’s pockets.
Regardless, Smith-Schuster could probably get a 3 or 4 year contract from the Steelers, or at the very least 2 years to stick around. It’s not going to be as much money as he envisioned as he entered the 2020 season set to be a free agent, but it might just be a little more job security than he’s finding out on the open market right now.
Stay tuned, SteelerNation. Tomorrow will surely be another barn burner!
Support SteelerNation by clicking here to read the story..
