Free agency does not officially begin until Tuesday, although players like Ndamukong Suh and Frank Gore have reportedly already found new homes. While the Steelers have never been major players in free agency over the years, they do some of their own players heading towards the free agent market. One player the Steelers should really consider bringing back is corner back Brice McCain.
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Scott Brown recently ranked McCain as the Steelers number two free agent behind Jason Worilds and he made the case for and against McCain returning to the Steelers. The case against McCain, is that he is going to turn 29 in December and while he had a very good season last year for the Steelers, intercepting three passes, he may have peaked after five average seasons with the Houston Texans.
The case for McCain is that he started the season as the Steelers fourth corner and by the end of the season he was starting over Cortez Allen. He also wouldn’t be the most expensive player to sign and having a veteran corner on the roster cannot hurt the Steelers defense, especially considering Ike Taylor is likely headed to another team.
One line in the Brown story scared me about the possibility of letting McCain walk was bolded below.
"“He outplayed the one-year contract he signed with the Steelers last year and is deserving of a raise. He should get some play in free agency if the Steelers don’t re-sign McCain before March 10, and the team may let the market decide his value before trying to re-sign him. The Steelers will give Allen every opportunity to win back the starting job he lost last season. Even if Allen rebounds, McCain gives the Steelers a solid option at nickel back and the team will bring him back with a deal that is fair to both sides.”"
If the Steelers are actually going to let Cortez Allen have a chance to become a starter again, and they likely will based on the amount of money they are paying him, then the Steelers better have another option behind Allen on the depth chart because the chances of him failing to play well are pretty high.
Currently the Steelers only have William Gay, B.W. Webb, Antwon Blake, Kevin Fogg, and Allen on the roster. Corner is going to be a top priority in the draft but signing back McCain will at least give the Steelers defense some depth at the position. Apparently the Philadelphia Eagles already have interest in McCain, so the Steelers may be smart to sign him before he officially hits the market on Tuesday rather than risking him walking to another team.
What do you think Steelers Nation? Should they re-sign Brice McCain or let him walk?