Steelers News: Miller, Allen, Tuitt
By Kim Myers
The Steelers players head into the offseason for recovery and the coaches head out to prepare for free agency and the draft.
Steelers season never truly ends for Steeler Nation so while the offseason starts to heat up we’ll be busy looking for mentions of your Black & Gold so we’ve got you covered. Here’s your Steelers Morning Huddle for Friday, Feb. 19th.
Steelers reflect on Miller
If you thought there was going to be some kind of tearful press conference for Heath Miller to formally announce his retirement and answer questions then you clearly don’t know much about Heath Miller. Miller was never the loudest voice on the field or in the locker room and never the type to request attention to the directed at him.
Steelers players and coaches for the past few days have taken time to express what Earl Miller really means to them. Steelers coach Mike Tomlin told Teresa Varley about how having Miller on the Steelers all these years has impacted him and the team.
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"“To watch him grow in every way. To watch his sons get old enough to come to work with him on a Saturday morning and see those relationships. He is not low maintenance, he has been no maintenance. He has always put the Pittsburgh Steelers first in every aspect of his professional life. I don’t know that I can describe that. I don’t know if there has been a guy that I have been around that is like him from an unselfish standpoint. Largely and in every instance, we are all human, we all fall short. I don’t know if I have ever seen a regrettable moment in him. That just speaks to who he is.” – Mike Tomlin"
Tough decisions
The Steelers are facing some tough decisions prior to the start of the league year. While the business side of things reveal that with Heath Miller retiring, the Steelers will save about $7 million in salary cap room, they could save even more if they make some cuts.
ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler suggests that the Steelers could save $4.4 million in cap space by designating cornerback Cortez Allen as a post-June 1 cut. Allen didn’t need surgery to repair the knee injury that kept him out of 15 games in the 2015 regular season.
Prior to the injury Allen was benched in the 2014 season for lack of production. The Steelers can’t afford to waste another year hoping Allen can turn things around as well as hoping he can stay healthy.
Aiming high
Defense wins championships the Super Bowl Champion Denver Broncos are the perfect example of that statement. For the Steelers to stack up as real contenders they’ll need more than the prolific offense with Ben Roethlisberger, Antonio Brown and Le’Veon Bell; they’ll need a defense that doesn’t give up a total of over 4,500+ passing yards a season.
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Steelers defensive end Stephon Tuitt thinks the Steelers can return in 2016 with the tools to be stacked on offense as well as defense. Based on quotes he gave Gerry Dulac of the PPG Tuitt said that the future is bright for the Steelers defense and they have their eyes set on being the top unit in 2016.
They very well might just be a few pieces away from making Tuitt’s words a reality.