Three pending free agents Steelers must try to re-sign
By Eric Hassel
The Steelers traded for a tight end whom we need to re-sign
A fifth-round pick in the 2020 NFL draft is what we traded to the Seattle Seahawks for a tight end. Nick Vannett, the aforementioned TE, played in 13 games for us, starting six of them. Vannett grabbed 13 passes for 128 yards.
While Vannett’s production was less than stellar, it was a byproduct of the ineptitude of the offense in general. I firmly believe that Vannett can contribute to the offense in 2020 if we can re-sign him. I think the fact that we traded for him in the first place tells me that we saw something in his game to warrant making the trade.
A tight end who can both catch and block is an invaluable piece to any offense, but for our offense, a tight end who is adept in both the running game and in the passing game is a commodity. In my opinion, Vannett is a commodity that we can not afford to lose. He may never become a ‘top-flight’ TE, but he is solid.
As with Davis and Finney, I have no idea what it would cost in terms of a contract to re-sign Vannett, but I think we have to try to re-sign him, if for nothing else than to see what production he can provide by playing a full season with us. Again, whether or not that transpires remains to be seen, but I, for one, would like to see it become a reality.
The Steelers might be best served by trying to re-sign three of our own
Free agency will be upon us before we know it. The Steelers have several free agents, both unrestricted and restricted, about whom decisions have to be made. I think we need to try to re-sign as many of our own free agents as we can.
We talked about only three of the pending free agents the Steelers will have to either make offers to or not make offers to. Some of those offers will be accepted; some will not be accepted. That is life in the NFL; that is life in this iteration of free agency.
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My only hope is that the Steelers will be able to re-sign three of our own. Sean Davis, B.J. Finney and Nick Vannett were members of the Steelers in 2019. Let’s hope they will be members of the Steelers in 2020 and beyond.