Predictions for Steelers six top free agents this offseason

Alejandro Villanueva

Signs a 2-year, 38-million-dollar contract with 22 million guaranteed with the Colts

While it will be a huge blow to this offensive line, Alejandro Villanueva seems likely to find a new team this offseason. He has been playing on a discount for the past four seasons, and he rightfully deserves to be paid as a top ten tackle. The Steelers won’t be able to pay him this kind of money, but there will be plenty of teams that will be willing to pay for the veteran.

Take the Colts, who have an exorbitant amount of cap space despite fielding a supremely talented team. With their recent trade for Carson Wentz, the team is clearly in a win now mode, which means protecting Wentz will be paramount for the Colts. Adding a great pass-protecting tackle like Villanueva makes sense for them. He would slide in and start for the retiring Anthony Castonzo and the line shouldn’t skip a beat.

While Villanueva is an older player, he didn’t start playing heavily until he was older, to begin with. This means his wear and tear is less so than a typical elderly tackle. While his run blocking wasn’t great this past season, his pass protection was impeccable. He slowed down a little bit late in the season, but the entire line seemed to regress at that point as the Steelers’ offense became predictable. Villanueva is still a top tackle, and the Colts would be wise to bring him in to protect Wentz this season.