Here are the grades for the Steelers free-agent additions halfway through the year
Kevin Colbert has been known to hold dear to one philosophy when building a team: build through the draft. Considering he and the Steelers have appeared in three Super Bowls and won two of them along the way, this idea holds a lot of merits. As a team, you shouldn’t rely on a big addition in free agency. Instead, the proverbial “next man up” should be waiting in the wings to take over.
While this has worked in building a consistently competitive team, it has usually resulted in some less than stellar free agency moves. The Steelers tend to opt for cheap fixes and short-term solutions instead of signing the big names that every other team pursues. While this can land studs like James Farrior for cheap, it can also lead to injured and unproductive players that are cut a year after they sign.
Looking at this past offseason, the Steelers made the most out of the little that they had, signing three free agents as well as making a trade. This was all done despite the team having a small budget to cap restrictions. That said, these additions have yet to pay off in any substantial way, and as of now none of them are locks to see a second year with the team. While this has been mitigated by a stellar rookie class, it still doesn’t excuse the Steelers for adding such poor options during free agency.
With all of this said, here are the grades for the Steelers free agents’ half-way into the season.
Chris Wormley
Grade: D
While not a free agent per se, Chris Wormley was acquired from the rival Ravens along with a 7th in exchange for the Steelers’ 5th round selection. While the draft compensation wasn’t much, it should also be noted that he is getting paid over two million dollars this season due to his playing time and is a free agent this year. While all of this still isn’t much, it is too much for the former Raven.
While Wormley was placed on IR this past week, it wasn’t like he was doing much before that. He had only logged 51 total snaps on defense (roughly 11 percent of the total snaps) and contributed all of three tackles in that span. While his play certainly wasn’t horrible, it also wasn’t anything to be excited about, and it certainly wasn’t worth swapping picks and paying his increased salary.
Considering there was a slew of run stuffers that signed for the minimum, it would have made much more sense for the Steelers to go that route when adding a defensive lineman. That way, the Steelers would have had a smaller cap hit on their books and more draft capital to move around. Wormley hasn’t been horrible, but his lack of playing time mixed in with his average play makes it really hard to grade this move highly.
Derek Watt
Grade: D+
Derek Watt was an exciting edition as far as full-backs go. As a part of the Watt family, his name means a lot to people, but his play as a full-back was great. On paper, he was a solid lead blocker that could get some short-yardage work as well as be a core special teams’ player. That said, the Steelers gave him 3.25 million dollars a season, meaning fans rightfully had high expectations for him as he is the second-highest-paid full back in the NFL.
His start of the season was strong as well. While he wasn’t a major contributor on offense, he did log four tackles and a safety as a special team’s player. Then, the injury bug bit him and he has only played in one game since. While he should return healthy sooner than later, it is concerning that injuries have already limited him this much. As well, it further calls in to question if his contract was worth it, as no other full-back in free agency got more than the minimum.
All of this said, he has the best chance of seeing the second year of his contract, as he would actually lose cap space if cut next offseason. That said, having this much money tied up in a full back when there will be a lot more pressing needs is questionable. While I’m sure he will return to form on special teams once fully healthy, this move can’t be graded that high. At the end of the day, he’s a full-back that has roughly a four-million-dollar cap hit next season. That would be hard to justify even if he was fully healthy.
Stefen Wisniewski
Grade: F
There may not have been anyone as excited for the Stefen Wisniewski signing than I was. Considering B.J. Finney got four million per season, getting Wisniewski for a cheap seemed like a steal due to their similar skill set. That said, Wisniewski had his chance to start earlier than anyone would have liked when he filled in for an injured David DeCastro in week one. He had a pretty bad start to his Steelers career and then preceded to go to IR with a pectoral injury.
Again, it is hard to be harsh over injuries, but the fact that he played so poorly in the only chance he has had to start was a bad sign. Worse yet for him, rookie Kevin Dotson has looked really impressive in his absence, meaning that even if he is activated soon, he’ll be buried on the depth chart. While one could argue that the goal of the Steelers was to have Dotson ascend as he has, it doesn’t mean that Wisniewski’s contract is justified.
Of the signed free agents, Wisniewski has the worse shot of returning this offseason. While he doesn’t have a high cap hit, the fact that the only snaps he played were pretty bad makes him look like a lost cause. He will need to have a really strong second half of the season to justify keeping him beyond this year. That said, I wouldn’t expect to see Wisniewski in a Steelers uniform for long.
Eric Ebron
Grade: C+
The Steelers crown jewel of free agency has already lost a lot of its luster, as Eric Ebron has struggled to find a consistent role. While his receptions have gone up recently, it is concerning that he hasn’t been a big-play threat and even more concerning is that he has only scored twice on the season. Part of this is because the other Steelers’ weapons have progressed nicely, making dependence on Ebron not necessary. That said, his play still hasn’t been what many thought it would be.
On the season, he has caught 26 passes for 263 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Fine numbers, but not ones deserving of the contract he got. While he is becoming a security option for Ben Roethlisberger, he hasn’t proven to be overly dynamic with the ball in his hands. As well, his red-zone production has been almost nonexistent which is an unpleasant surprise considering he scored 13 times two seasons ago.
Considering the cap restrictions next offseason, it may be hard to justify keeping him at his cap number despite his expanding role. While he hasn’t been a disaster like some of the other free agents have been in the past, he certainly hasn’t been a value signing either. He looks like a potential one and done with the Steelers, joining a long list of signings that didn’t pan out once they were added to the team.
While none of these additions have been disastrous for one reason or another, none of them of been quality additions either. This hasn’t stopped the Steelers from starting the season 7-0, but it certainly would be nice to see some more out of these players. To be frank, all of them need a strong second half of the season to warrant staying with the Steelers beyond 2020.