Monthly Archives: March 2014

Steelers Reportedly Re-Sign Safety Will Allen

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According to his agent, the Steelers have agreed to terms with veteran Safety Will Allen. There has not been an official announcement from the team, but one should come later today. The terms have not been disclosed yet of course, but I expect this to be a minimum deal, with perhaps a small guaranteed signing bonus. That would be the case even if the Steelers hadn’t used the transition tag on Jason Worilds.

The Steelers re-signed Allen in October after he was cut by the Cowboys. The timing of his release really worked to the Steelers favor, as Damon Cromartie-Smith had injured his hip flexor and was unable to play. Allen turns 32 this spring.

Jason Worilds Accepts Transition Tag

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Jason Worilds has reportedly accepted his transition tag today. This means that he may no longer consider offers from other teams. There is reading between the lines to be done here. On the surface, it seemed like the best thing for Worilds and his agent to do was explore the market, hoping for a big payday.

Multiple assumptions can be made about his quickness to “sign” the transition tag. It’s possible that he wasn’t as hot a commodity as many people thought, though I don’t really think that’s true. It’s very probable that his camp and Steelers management are close to a long term deal. The Steelers knew that slapping the transition tag on a player makes it difficult for another team to make a play for him.

Of course it’s not impossible for another team, but the original team has the leverage in that situation. If you’re a team that’s hungry for a pass rusher, having to work out a deal with a player’s agent and then having to wait up to 5 days for the original team to match it, is less than ideal. The beginning of free agency is extremely active, and if you have to wait nearly a week for one player who you might not get, you put yourself in a tight spot, because you likely miss out on other available free agents. On top of that, teams hate to negotiate contracts for other teams, which is essentially what they would be doing. With the team being in worse shape than most from a cap standpoint, they made themselves vulnerable to losing Worilds to a deal they couldn’t match. It wouldn’t take too much for a team to offer the linebacker a front loaded contract that the Steelers wouldn’t possibly be able to equal.

Worilds and his representation may have feared the Steelers would rescind the tag. If he didn’t get the interest he hoped for, and the Steelers withdrew the transition tag, things could get tricky. Ultimately, it’s about risk/reward for both sides.

Now that he has in fact “signed” it, the Steelers have lost a lot of leverage in negotiations. Being a cap strapped team, Worilds’ agent knows the Steelers don’t likely want to pay him $9,754,000 guaranteed this year. The sooner they can lower that cap hit by signing him to a long term deal, the better.

Jason La Canfora reported earlier that the Steelers have made progress towards reaching a long term deal with Worilds. I imagine that’s true, and am sure that is their hope.

 

Steelers Staff At Auburn Pro Day To See Robinson, Ford, And Others

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Auburn is one of a few schools having their pro day today, and the Steelers have personnel in attendance to meet with some of the prospects. Some of the players the Steelers are likely interested in having a close look at there are OT Greg Robinson, OLB/DE Dee Ford, RB Tre Mason, CB Chris Davis, and FB Jay Prosch just to name a few. While Robinson is likely to be picked in the top 5, the team is going to gather as much information as they can.

Dee Ford, who was a surprise medical scratch at the combine, was said to have had a big performance today. The 6’2″, 252 lb pass rusher did 29 bench press reps at 225 lbs, and ran a 4.45 40. He definitely helped his draft stock today.

Here is a pic of Steelers offensive assistant coach Shaun Sarrett talking with Greg Robinson.

 

Steelers Use Transition Tag On Jason Worilds

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The Steelers announce that they are using the transition designation on LB Jason Worilds. This comes right at the 4:00 PM deadline. By doing this, the team is saying they want to sign Worilds to a deal, but either they aren’t yet sure what his value is yet, or both sides can’t yet reach an agreement. Using the transition tag is basically telling his agent to see if he can go find a deal.

Lets explore how the transition tag works. Designating a player a transition player lets him explore the free agent market, while the franchise tag does not. The Steelers will have the right of first refusal to match any offer that Worilds should receive in free agency. If that does happen, they will have 5 days to decide if they want to match. They won’t however receive any compensation this year if they do lose him to free agency.

Using the franchise tag on a linebacker counts $11.455 Mil against a team’s cap, while the transition tag is less expensive at $9.754 Mil. The Steelers will be on the hook for that amount starting March 11th. The two sides can always come to long term agreement, and that contract will make the transition tag a moot point. The last time the Steelers used the transition tag on a player was Max Starks in 2008.

Redskins Franchise Orakpo, Stock Goes Up For Worilds

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The Washington Redskins have used their franchise tag on LB Brian Orakpo today. All teams have until 4:00 PM est to use their franchise tag. Obviously, the Steelers have no intention in franchising anyone this year, but the Redskins franchise tag is relevant to them.

The franchise tag for linebackers is $11.455 Mil. Both sides have until July 15th to work on a new contract. If they can’t reach a deal, then the tagged player will play for a one year contract worth the franchise designation. Brian Orakpo is the top free agent linebacker this year. By using the franchise tag on him, the Redskins have taken him off the market, making Jason Worilds arguably the top free agent linebacker.

I’ve never viewed the Steelers outside linebacker contract situation as being “either/or”. Releasing Woodley this year has never made much sense from a cap standpoint, and the team can’t (won’t) afford to get in a bidding war for Jason Worilds. If they let him play the free agent market, it seems very likely that he’ll be starting for a different team next year.  The Tennessee Titans seem like a very likely landing spot to me. Ray Horton is their new defensive coordinator and they have over $13 Mil in cap space.

Worilds, who turned 26 today, has suggested that he doesn’t want to return unless he can start and that doesn’t seem possible.

Report: Steelers Rework Heath Miller’s Contract

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According to Ian Rapoport, the Steelers have reworked Heath Miller’s contract to create needed cap space for 2014.

2014 is the final year of  Heath’s contract, so a traditional restructuring isn’t an option.  I posted previously that I expect the Steelers to extend Heath’s contract. The Steelers restructured Miller’s contract  in September to make additional cap room for the 2013 season.

Traditional restructuring reduces the player’s base salary and rolls it over into a signing bonus, thus reducing the cap number for that year. Since Heath is in the final year of his contract, obviously his salary cannot be pushed forward without extending the duration of his contract.

Here are Heath’s 2014 numbers before today’s moves:

[table]

Player, Base Salary, Signing Bonus, Salary Cap Number

“Miller, Heath”, “$6,020,000”, “$3,446,500”, “$9,466,500”

[/table]

I’ll post Heath’s contract details when more information becomes available.

Plaxico Burress Wants To Play In 2014

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Plaxico Burress, who had to sit out the entire 2013 season due to a torn rotator cuff, says he wants to return in 2014. Burress is one of many wide receivers who will hit the free agency market next week. The 6’5″ wide receiver will turn 37 this August.

On his 36th birthday, Burress had surgery to repair the tear he suffered to his rotator cuff after falling in practice at Latrobe. He says he is still rehabbing from the injury, and still working on range of motion.

“Right now I am working on the range of motion, trying to get all of the range of motion back that I can. As the weeks and months go by I am getting stronger,” Burress said on the team’s website. “Getting my range of motion back is the most important thing for me with the position I play, being able to catch balls the way that I need to.”

The veteran receiver said it was tough watching at home and not being able to help the team during their struggles. “I watched every game…I was into it with what was going on with the guys. When we would get into the red zone at times and get field goals and not touchdowns, I saw myself going up there and maybe drawing double coverage or catching a touchdown to help us. That was the most difficult part about it, knowing I could be contributing and helping.”

Burress says that he hopes to get the chance to help in the redzone in 2014. “I am going to keep that mindset [of returning in ’14] until they tell me otherwise. I am going to keep going until I can’t go anymore. The stronger I can get, I can come back and play. I want to come back and play.”

“Plax” won’t garner much interest at the start of free agency. He might draw some tire kicking as an insurance policy later this off-season, though.

Jack Bicknell Jr. Lands With The Dolphins

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The Dolphins announced today that they have hired former Steelers Offensive Line Coach Jack Bicknell Jr. He was fired by the Steelers on January 3rd, and replaced by…well, you know.

The Dolphins previous offensive line coach, Jim Turner, was fired recently after being cast in a negative light in the Wells Report. Miami has promoted their assistant offensive line coach, and hired Bicknell to take over assistant duties.

Dolphins Head Coach Joe Philbin released the following statement about the hire:

“With the promotion of John Benton, along with the addition of Jack Bicknell Jr. we have two experienced football coaches who have an impressive history working with and developing quality offensive line units. They are both excellent teachers and are highly respected within the coaching community. Both coaches will be great assets to the Miami Dolphins organization.”