Steelers 2015 Unsigned Free Agents: WR Darrius Heyward-Bey

The final two unsigned free agents for the Pittsburgh Steelers include wide receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey. Heyward-Bey was a free agent acquisition last offseason for the Steelers, a surprising pickup for many considering he’s gone from being the 7^th overall pick in the NFL Draft to bouncing around from team to team in just six seasons.

The fact that Heyward-Bey was a seventh overall pick in the draft doesn’t necessarily mean that he should have been much better considering it was the Oakland Raiders who drafted him and they’ve been whiffing on first-round draft picks for decades. However, if Heyward-Bey was at one point a high-maintenance first-round pick receiver in his career, he didn’t exhibit any of those qualities in 2014 for the Steelers.

Heyward-Bey was basically the fifth wide receiver on the depth chart and contributed mainly on special teams. He would finish the 2014 season with only 33 receiving yards on three catches but contributed five tackles and a forced fumble on special teams.

Nov 30, 2014; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; New Orleans Saints strong safety Kenny Vaccaro (left) intercepts a ball in the end-zone intended for Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey (85) during the second quarter at Heinz Field. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

The Steelers are in an interesting situation with the wide receiving corps this offseason. With Antonio Brown fully implanting himself as one of, if not the best receivers in the league and Markus Wheaton and Martavis Bryant having breakout seasons in 2014; the future looks young and bright with the Steelers receivers.

Lance Moore has requested his release from the Steelers, after never quite gelling into the offense that turned in record-breaking stats this past year mainly without his services. The Steelers don’t need to worry about needing to have a veteran presence as Brown, going into his fifth season, can completely be considered the veteran leader of the bunch.

That being said, it would be a very low-risk, high reward to re-sign Heyward-Bey even if he only contributes about the same amount in 2015 as he did the past season. If he’s still willing to put the work in and contribute where he is needed, I don’t see a downside in signing him to another one-year deal to keep the wide receiving corps basically intact since Moore rarely infiltrated the group anyway.

What do you think Steeler Nation? Do you see the value in re-signing Darrius Heyward-Bey or should the Steelers look elsewhere for wide receiver depth and special teams help?

The final unsigned free agent the Steelers have is defensive lineman Clifton Geathers. There’s not much to speak on him because he wasn’t signed to the team until December 1^st when Brett Keisel tore his triceps and actually didn’t play a snap for the Steelers.

He’s a 6’8”, 325lb lineman so by size alone he could be an asset to the team if they wise up and release last year’s free agent signing bust of Cam Thomas. But, without him playing any action for the Steelers, there’s little to go on for whether or not he’d be worth the contract. Had to be a reason he was available to be signed by an NFL team on December 1^st.

As of yet, the only signing the Steelers have made from the list of the twelve unrestricted free agents was long snapper Greg Warren, to whom they signed another one-year deal with on February 4^th. The free agency signings should heat up in the next couple of weeks before the league year officially begins on March 10^th.

Some important dates for NFL free agency to remember are:

March 2^nd= Prior to 4 p.m. ET, deadline for teams to tag any Franchise or Transition players

March 7^th-10^th= Teams can start negotiating new contracts with players who will become unrestricted free agents when their 2014 contracts expire on March 10th. No contracts will be effective until March 10th.

March 10^th= All teams must be under the 2015 salary cap prior to 4 p.m. ET

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