It's certainly been an eventful few days since the legal tampering period kicked off in the NFL on Monday. Though the Pittsburgh Steelers weren't expected to make much of a splash, considering their salary cap situation, general manager Omar Khan has shown that he's going to make his best effort to improve this roster (even while on the Pro Day scouting trail).
After signing two outside free agents in CB Patrick Peterson and OG Nate Herbig, Pittsburgh's front office had another very busy day on Wednesday. Here's the latest Steelers news as the official free agency period has begun.
Steelers news:
Probably the biggest news out of Pittsburgh Wednesday is that the Steelers signed linebacker, Cole Holcomb, to a three-year contract. Though he might not have been the linebacker most fans were banging the table for, we got our wish with an under-the-radar player.
Holcomb is coming off a season-ending foot injury -- which probably attributed to him not drawing a ton of buzz in free agency. Still, he was having a very strong season last year before the injury and his well-balanced skill set will be an asset to a team lacking talent at the linebacker position. Holcomb tested as a 96th percentile athlete, according to Relative Athletic Score, and he could prove to be a three-down starter at linebacker for the Steelers.
Cole Holcomb was drafted with pick 173 of round 5 in the 2019 draft class. He scored a 9.64 RAS out of a possible 10.00. This ranked 72 out of 1967 LB from 1987 to 2019. #Steelershttps://t.co/6ecA1TJGLg #RAS pic.twitter.com/rXLrht6TP4
— Kent Lee Platte (@MathBomb) March 15, 2023
More Steelers news:
The other big Steelers news yesterday was that Mike Tomlin and Omar Khan were once again on the scouting trail. After scoping out the talent at Clemson's Pro Day on Tuesday, Pittsburgh's brass made their way south for Georgia's Pro Day on Wednesday. Tomlin and Khan were intently watching.
Steelers’ Mike Tomlin back again at Georgia Pro Day pic.twitter.com/XIVqmSk2Gd
— Marc Weiszer (@marcweiszer) March 15, 2023
Georgia may have more players drafted this year than any other school, so it wasn't a surprise to see Khan and Tomlin there together. Some of the top prospects include DT Jalen Carter, OT Broderick Jones, EDGE Nolan Smith, TE Darnell Washington, and CB Kelee Ringo.
The Steelers also scheduled a top-30 visit with Ringo, which makes things interesting. This will be their third time meeting with him this offseason. Ringo is considered to be an early day-two candidate in the 2023 NFL Draft.
NFL news:
In NFL news, quarterback Baker Mayfield has come to terms on a one-year, $8.5 million deal with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, ESPN's Adam Schefter confirms. Mayfield has fallen a long way since his second year in Cleveland, but the former number-one overall pick will look to revive his fallen career. This is a very low-risk deal for the Buccaneers, and they don't even need to stick with Mayfield as the starter this season if things go south.