Steelers: Meet the New Guys

The Steelers have been pretty hot in free agency this year by their standards. Let’s meet the new guys.

The Steelers have thus far acquired 4 free agents who had spent last year with another team. All four of these players have not played for the Steelers before. Now, the Steelers have certainly ended the offseason with more free agents than that, but they certainly haven’t kicked it off quite like this in recent memory.

So I don’t expect these to be the last free agent signings. In fact, the Steelers are continuing to meet with free agents. Jeremy Fowler of ESPN recently reported that center Steve Wisniewski and DT Mike Martin have talked with the Steelers. Others have come through as well.

So they might not be the last of them but they are the first of them. Let’s catch up with the new guys so far.

Ladarius Green – Definitely the biggest signing so far this offseason. Green is a big, fast, athletic tight end with good hands and route running skills. When it comes to blocking he might not be Heath Miller but he is pretty solid. He played 4 years with the Chargers where he showed a lot but was always stuck behind Antonio Gates. Expect him to break out in Pittsburgh.

Green does two things, he replaces and upgrades. He replaces Miller obviously but in a way he also replaces Martavis Bryant. He might not be the deep threat that Bryant is but he does keep the safeties honest and he’ll produce touchdowns. He upgrades by allowing the Steelers to utilize a legitimate two tight end threat. Green is 6’6″ and Jesse James is 6’7″. That’s a red zone nightmare..

In his own words: Ray Fittipaldo of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette quoted Green as saying,

"“I had some offers, but everyone knows the Steelers, the history behind the team, Everybody has seen the offense as well. It wasn’t too hard of a choice.” And he said of Steelers fans, “I think everyone noticed the number of Steelers fans out there. When you saw the towels in there it was pretty bad for us because we had to go on silent count. We knew they were there.You want to be around that kind of stuff. It was a pretty big point in coming.”"

Ryan Harris – Harris was obviously brought in to replace left tackle Kelvin Beachum who left for Jacksonville this offseason. The Steelers couldn’t really afford Beachum and the performance of Alejandro Villanueva after Beachum tore his ACL made Beachum more expendable. But Villanueva is young and Harris was brought in as insurance to compete for the starting spot.

So one will be a start, the other a quality backup. Harris was drafted by the Broncos originally and was a starter but dealt with injuries. He then bounced around to the Texans and the Chiefs before landings again in Denver. There he was a full time left tackle and he got a unique intangible to bring to the table: a Super Bowl. Whether he starts or not Harris definitely brings value to the team.

In his own words: ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler quotes Harris as saying, “At this point in my career, I’m only playing ball to try to win championships. I think the Steelers have a really good chance. It’s an organization that’s meant a lot, not only in football but to board rooms and people all over the country.”

Ricardo Mathews – Mathews is the second Chargers defensive lineman the Steelers have picked up in the span of 3 offseasons. He’s also the second Chargers player the Steelers have signed this offseason. The Chargers might be becoming the new Cardinals. Regardless, Mathews is a necessary addition to the team.

Mathews was a 7th round pick for the Colts in 2010. In 2014 he moved to the Chargers and was a valuable contributor along the defensive line. Mathews offers essentially what they got from Cam Thomas, a versatile defensive linemen who can play nose and end. Like Cam “Baby Zilla” Thomas, Mathews also carries an adorable nickname: Meatball.

In his own words: Eric D. Williams of ESPN quoted Mathews as saying in 2015, “From the past, I’ve come to see that everybody feeds off of that. It’s important to me because I don’t want to depend on anybody else to get me going. So I’d rather be the one having all of the energy, because I’ve got it, and share it with the rest of the team.”

Steve Johnson – The latest addition. He’s here to take the place of Sean Spence, who’s now on the Titans, and Terence Garvin, who’s now on the Redskins. The Steelers still have Timmons, Shazier, and Vince Williams but they traditionally carry four ILBs. So Steve Johnson was added for ILB depth and special teams.

Like a few of our other additions, this will not be Johnson’s first trip to a new city. He was picked up as an undrafted free agent in 2012 by the Broncos and spent last year with the Titans. Johnson, like Garvin before him, did not see a lot of ILB snaps but is an above average special teams player.

In his own words: Johnson said in an interview with Steelers.com, “Being a Pennsylvania native … I’m very excited to be back in the state. My dad’s excited. He’ll be able to come to a lot of games. It’s going to be exciting to be out there in that black and yellow making plays.”

Next: Nose tackle must be addressed in the draft

Well there they are, the new guys … so far.