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 Saturday, Feb. 27th.
High Praise
It seems like NFL players, well athletes in general mostly, like to play the role of the underdog during the heat of competition. There’s something about being fueled by the “Nobody gave us a chance” mantra that gives them a little extra mustard. During the offseason, however, I’m sure they enjoy hearing nothing but compliments and high praise.
The Steelers got some national praise this week while the NFL world descended upon Lucas Oil Stadium for the NFL Scouting Combine. Teresa Varley tells us that ESPN’s Sal Paolantonio had some good things to say about the Steelers and Ben Roethlisberger.
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"“I always like the Steelers. This is the Tiffany operation in the NFL. I have a lot of respect for the organization, for Mike Tomlin, for Ben Roethlisberger. I have a lot of respect for Big Ben. I am around Merril Hoge all of the time so I learn about the Steelers whether I want to or not.” – Sal Paolantonio"
Paolantonio also picked the Steelers to win the AFC North this year. Varley also got NFL Network’s Mike Mayock to weigh in on his feelings about Steelers running back Le’Veon Bell.
"“Le’Veon Bell is to me the prototype in the NFL right now for the all-around back. The first one is vision. Outside zone, you don’t know where the hole is going to open up. Second is patience, when’s it going to open? When are you going to hit it? Now when you hit it can you run through the arm tackle of the man much bigger than you and accelerate again down the sideline. They run wide receiver routes with him. Le’Veon Bell is outstanding.” – Mike Mayock"
Mo money, mo problems?
The NFL and NFLPA have agreed on the 2016 season salary cap. The cap number agreed upon is $155 million per team. Some teams have some carry-over from unused space from the previous season so there seems to be some conflicting reports on how the carry-over is used at this juncture. I’m sure it will all get figured out soon.
The Steelers' adjusted salary cap for 2016 will be $158.19 million. That includes a carryover from last season... https://t.co/FN4LRP4Hyf
— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) February 27, 2016
Salary cap reported at $155. Steelers $3M carryover doesnt alter that number.
— Mark Kaboly (@MarkKaboly) February 27, 2016
Into the big wide open
The Steelers have some decisions to make on their in-house free agents coming up in the next couple of weeks. While at the Combine the team will meet with the agents for the players they intend to re-sign. ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler has some feelings about which direction the team is leaning towards with some of the players.
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Fowler thinks the team will be bringing back cornerback William Gay while letting safety Will Allen test the market. They’ll also be looking to bring back defensive tackle Steve McLendon but will probably have to make a choice between offensive linemen Kelvin Beachum and Ramon Foster.
We’ll see how it plays out within the next two weeks.