Early grades for every Steelers 2021 free agency signing
By Andrew Falce
Tyson Alualu
2-year, 5.5 million dollars, 2.0375 million dollar cap hit
Grade: A
In what turned into one of the most surprising and unique free agent stories of the offseason, Tyson Alualu initially announced he was returning to the Jaguars but COVID delayed his traves to sign his actual contract. While he was at home recovering, his fellow teammates bombarded Alualu and he decided to keep his family in Pittsburgh. In turn, he signed the Steelers deal for less money.
While on paper signing an aging defensive lineman for 2.25 million dollars a year seems risky as the risk for regression is ever apparent, this Alualu deal was great value. He was prepared to sign for more money with the Jaguars, so the Steelers seemingly got him for below market value. This doesn’t even consider his play, which was nearly elite for a nose tackle last season. Despite making a position switch, Alualu bullied opposing interior offensive lineman. He was one of the top nose tackles in the league despite making the switch to that position well into his thirties.
While there is a chance last season was just a flash in the pan for Alualu and age takes its course this season, this deal still is good value. He is getting paid just a little more than Wormley and is expected to start in the base defense. Other top nose tackles can get paid 10 plus million a year, so retaining Alualu on a budget is a great move no matter how the next season plays out. If Alualu continues to thrive, the team still has him under contract for one more season on top of it. The age is the only concern here, but Alualu showed no signs of slowing down last season.
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The Steelers had a busy free agency period this offseason as the team was aggressive in adding lower-level talent. While most of these additions will likely be gone by this time next season, some of them presented great value both for this season and beyond. Colbert took his usual route in a free agency period and landed some quality starting and depth talent. While some deals left many scratching their heads, it seems like the Steelers did well with what they had this year.