Should the Steelers have extended Mike Hilton’s contract?
The Pittsburgh Steelers came to camp with a particular restricted free-agent unsigned. Mike Hilton came to Latrobe with hopes of an extension but ultimately signed his tender.
The Steelers came to camp with Mike Hilton unsigned on his restricted free agent tender. Hilton participated in OTAs and workouts on good faith as he tried for a long-term extension.
That did not come to fruition as the Steelers signed Hilton to his one year, $645,000 tender on July 25th. Hilton still desires a long-term extension and that poses the question: should the team have extended him and should they consider it any time soon?
Mike Hilton burst on the scene in 2017 after joining the team as a free agent and was a very hyped up player heading into camp. He did not disappoint and made his way on the 53-man roster at the break of camp for the 2017 season.
In 2017, Hilton garnered recognition as one of the better run supporting nickel corners in football. He had 54 total tackles, 10 tackles for loss, four sacks, six passes defensed, two interceptions and one forced fumble.
He made his biggest impact as a blitzer from the slot in which he garnered his four sacks. Hilton also tallied eight QB hits on the year and made it known that he could pressure the passer from the slot.
The 2018 season was a bit of a step back for Hilton in terms of production. He had more total tackles but his tackles for loss, interceptions, sacks and QB hits dropped from 2017.
An arm injury early in the season had much to do with what was a drop in production for Hilton. Injury or not, he saw himself benched regularly toward the end of 2018 in favor of second year pro Cameron Sutton due to coverage miscues and an overall drop in play.
To answer the question posed earlier, the Steelers were right to not extend Mike Hilton ahead of the 2019 season. His regression last year throws up a small red flag that it could have been just tough luck in 2018 or his 2017 season was an outlier to what kind of player Hilton actually is.
2019 will be a big year for Hilton as the Steelers could look into an extension next year if he gets back to his 2017 ways. The team does not have to extend him next year, however.
Hilton will be a restricted free agent again ahead of the 2020 NFL season. Unlike 2019, in 2020 he won’t be exclusive which means he can negotiate with other teams if tendered by the Steelers and Pittsburgh would have right of first refusal and be able to match any deal offered by someone else.
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Pittsburgh can now choose to see how 2019 plays out before thinking about extending Mike Hilton in 2020. Even in 2020, they can apply the restricted tender and hope no one offers him a big deal. The Steelers were very smart to wait this one out.