Pittsburgh Steelers Sign Cam Thomas, Plugs The Leak At NT
September 16, 2012; San Diego, CA, USA; Tennessee Titans quarterback Jake Locker (10) is hit by San Diego Chargers defensive tackle Cam Thomas (93) and linebacker Shaun Phillips (95) as he releases the ball during the second quarter at Qualcomm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports
The Pittsburgh Steelers made some early moves in free agency – something fans aren’t accustomed in seeing or hearing. As the team appeared to gather steam during the week, the air was quickly let out of the defensive balloon starting on Thursday. On Friday afternoon, they have appeared to bounce back and at the very least slowed the leak.
Defensive linemen Al Woods and Ziggy Hood left the team for the Titans and the Jaguars respectively. Hood’s departure officially closes the books on the 2009 draft class. Every single one of those draftees are now with other teams. Woods was a large blow to the line mainly because of his ability to play NT fairly well. Up to that point McClendon had been struggling at that spot and is better suited as a defensive end. Hood has always struggled at the line, and as he held a press conference with the Jags, pretty much summed up what everyone knew: He was a square peg 4-3 defense trying to be squeezed into the round hole of a 3-4. People may think ‘bust’ but he will probably fair well down in Jacksonville.
With the departure of Woods and Hood, the Steelers were now staring at a rather thin roster on the defensive line: Cam Heyward, Brian Arnfelt, Brett Keisel (if re-signed), and Steve McLendon. Signing Thomas is more than just adding depth to the defensive line. At 330lbs, Cam Thomas’ large frame can and will plug up holes. He’s probably not quite as large a plug as Big Snack, but he is still under 30 (age 27) and has mainly served a back up until last season. Does that help his longevity at doing this? I’m not sold on that, but the Steelers helped themselves by only signing Thomas to a two year contract. If he doesn’t perform well, he’s gone in a couple years. If he breaks down or gets hurt, they can off the hook with him quickly.
A two year deal also means that the Steelers will probably try and find a NT in this draft. Thomas will be forcing McLendon to start on the outside since that is a better suited position for him. This also could signal the end of Da Beard (as much as that pains me to say). If the Steelers could get a hometown discount and minimum for Keisel, they probably could sign him on as a back up role. But would Keisel settle for playing backup rather than the arrow slinging starter he’s been for so long?
The team is far from over in addressing the D-line, but it looks like that it’s shaping up to be Heyward, Thomas, and McLendon making up the front three starters going into training camp this summer. I can hear “Twin Cam” as some sort of marketing slogan alreayd. The addition of Thomas is a nice rebound from what could have been a rather disastrous 24 hours for the Steelers. I like the move and hope he can contribute in a big way. The Steelers run defense was horrid last season, and much of it had to do with the fact they didn’t have a solid NT to take up lots of space in the middle. Not sure how well he will do with any sort of pass rush, so we might see McClendon move to NT and Kesiel (should the re-sign him) step in on the outside on passing downs.
Welcome to the Black & Gold, Cam.