Monthly Archives: March 2014

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Report: Alex Carrington Agrees To Terms With St. Louis

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Free agent defensive lineman Alex Carrington has agreed to terms with the St. Louis Rams, according to NFL Network reporter Ian Rapoport.

Carrington visited the Steelers a couple weeks ago, and the meeting was said to have went well. He had visits with a few other teams, but none of those resulted in a contract either. While it was reported that he passed his physical here in Pittsburgh, Steelers Digest editor Bob Labriola said that he is not fully healed from his quad injury.

The former Bills defender was one of Rotoworld’s higest ranked remaining free agent defensive tackles.  Thanks for stopping by, and as always, be sure to share with your friends.

Lance Moore Signs His 2 Year Deal Worth $3 Million

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Lance Moore has officially signed his two year deal, according to Steelers PR man Burt Lauten.

Moore’s two year contract has a total value of $3 Mil. The deal includes a $645,000 guaranteed signing bonus, with no other guarantees. His contract with the Saints that was voided called for $3.8 Mil in cash in 2014.

Here is a breakdown of his contract.

[table]

Player, Year, Base Salary, Signing Bonus, Salary Cap Number

“Moore, Lance”, 2014, “$855,000 “, “$322,500”, “$1,177,500”
“Moore, Lance”, 2015, “$1,500,000”, “$322,500”, “$1,822,500”
[/table]

As you might expect, the contract is a very terminable one if the need should arise after this season.

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Steelers Expected To Meet With Jones-Drew’s Camp Again This Week

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The New York Daily News reports that the Steelers, as well as other teams, are expected to meet with Maurice Jones-Drew’s representatives this week in Florida.

The Steelers hosted Jones-Drew for two days last week, but the veteran running back left without a contract. It was rumored that MJD was seeking $3.5 Mil per year, but the Daily News reports that multiple sources say that wasn’t the case. Even if it were true, the market will quickly determine that figure to be higher than what he should realistically expect.

The other teams reportedly interested in meeting with his people this week are the Jets, Patriots, and Dolphins. The Jets and Dolphins have a ton of cap space relatively speaking, though, the Dolphins may not be as interested in the free agent RB as the NY Daily News thinks. According to Miami Herald reporter Armando Salguero, the Dolphins haven’t shown much interest as of yet.

Jones-Drew has a lot of wear on his tires, but he’d be a solid veteran addition to back up Le’Veon Bell. It doesn’t seem very likely that he’ll wind up in Pittsburgh, but stranger things have happened. The Steelers also have a visit scheduled with RB LeGarrette Blount at the end of this week. Thanks for stopping by, and as always, be sure to share with your friends.

Steelers Hard Knocks

[Video] Mike Tomlin: Being Forced To Do Hard Knocks “Is A Joke”

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Mike Tomlin and Kevin Colbert were interviewed by KDKA’s Bob Pompeani tonight about the possibility of having to do HBO’s Hard Knocks this year. You could say that neither one of them is a fan of the idea.

Mike Tomlin says he doesn’t watch the show, and “hates” reality TV. “I hate [reality TV] to be honest with you. I think that’s a misnomer. I think it’s anything but reality”, joked Tomlin.  The head coach went on to say, “On a personal level, I’m not in favor of it. That’s just me. I think that time of year, in terms of team development, there are a lot of complex things going on as it is…and to add to it, is not conducive to what we go there to do from my perspective.”

It is a joke. Just because it happens to be popular, doesn’t mean I have to participate. -Mike Tomlin

Kevin Colbert voiced his opposition as well, saying that he understood why fans would be interested in what goes on behind the scenes, but that from a management standpoint managing the extra distractions is the main issue. “If we’re picked, we’re picked. We have no choice”, he conceded. Colbert joked that he’d get personal make up artists if they could give him hair.

The possibility of the Steelers being forced to do Hard Knocks is real. While it seems likely that another team will volunteer or be chosen to do it over the Steelers, they do meet the criteria. To be exempt, a team must-

  • Have made the playoffs in one of the previous two seasons.
  • Have a new head coach.
  • Have appeared on Hard Knocks within the last 10 years.

Obviously, the Steelers don’t meet any of the above criteria. Other teams who could be forced to appear on Hard Knocks this year include the Bears, Bills, Cardinals, Giants, Jaguars, Raiders, and Rams.

You can watch the segment below. Thanks for stopping by and be sure to share with your friends.

[xyz-ihs snippet=”ColbertTomlinHardKnocks”]

2014 NFL Compensatory Picks Announced, Steelers Receive 3

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The NFL has notified teams of the 2014 compensatory draft picks each club will receive. The Steelers will receive 3. A 3rd, a 5th, and a 6th- picks 97, 173, and 215. I projected the comp picks a few months ago, and I’ve always thought we’d get two- a 3rd and a 5th. Getting three is fantastic, especially in a draft that’s being touted as one of the deepest and best in the last ten years.

A comp pick “expert” had originally predicted a 3rd, 5th, and a 7th for the Steelers, but later revised it to a 3rd and a 5th.

The Steelers qualifying losses were Mike Wallace, Keenan Lewis, Rashard Mendenhall, and Ryan Mundy last year and only gained Bruce Gradkowski via free agency. The Steelers now have 9 picks this year in the 2014 draft. This article may be helpful in answering any questions about the process- http://thesteelersfans.com/1588/looking-at-the-2014-steelers-nfl-compensatory-picks/.

Thanks for stopping by, and as always, be sure to share with your friends.

Moats One Year Deal Qualifies For Minimum Salary Benefit

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The contract details for the Arthur Moats signing are available. The deal is for one year, with a base salary of $730,000- the minimum for a 4 to 6 year veteran. The deal also includes a low qualifying signing bonus of $65,000.

Being that the deal is for one year, includes a signing bonus of no more than $65,000, and is for the minimum non-guaranteed base salary, it will qualify for the veteran minimum salary benefit. His $730,000 base salary will only count $570,000 against the 2014 salary cap, the same as a 2nd year veteran’s minimum salary would. Expanding on that even further, his signing will ultimately only move the cap needle $150,000 due to rule of 51 displacement.

Last year, the Steelers saved over $1,375 Mil towards the cap by structuring deals this way. If you have any questions, feel free to ask. Thanks for stopping by, and as always, be sure to share with your friends.

Kelvin Beachum Has Earned Performance Based Pay For 2013

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Steelers offensive tackle Kelvin Beachum has earned a payout of $236,666.97 for his production during the 2013 season. Beachum played 840 snaps for the Steelers last year, 722 of which were at left tackle. The 2012 7th round pick out of Southern Methodist had a base salary of $480,000 last year. In 2014, the 3rd year of his rookie deal, his base salary is $570,000. His contract included a signing bonus of  just $45,896.

The Performance Based Pay system was developed under the previous CBA to supplement player compensation. Each team gets $3.46 Mil as part of the agreement between NFL management and the NFLPA. Beachum, and several other players in the league, will get their checks April 1, 2016. The money does not count against the salary cap.

 

Steelers To Sign LB Arthur Moats To 1 Year Deal

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According to ProFootballTalk, the Steelers are signing linebacker Arthur Moats to a one year deal. According to Jerry Dulac, Moats met with Kevin Colbert and Mike Tomlin before they left for the league meetings in Florida.

Moats was slated to visit the team today, well…probably today, according to Alan Robinson yesterday.

The addition of Moats comes as a low risk move to add depth at the inside/outside linebacker positions. Moats was drafted by the Buffalo Bills in the 6th round of the 2010 draft. While playing most of his snaps as a DE and Sam LB in their scheme, he transitioned to inside linebacker last season, and proved to be a solid run blocker.

Moats, 26, has position versatility and is a solid special teams contributor. He started 12 games for the Bills last year, and of the 301 snaps he saw, he totaled 54 tackles.

This signing doesn’t particularly bode well for those hoping to see James Harrison return to the Steelers anytime soon.

Baylor RB Lache Seastrunk To Visit The Steelers

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Former Baylor running back Lache Seastrunk tells the Star-Telegram that he has a visit lined up with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Seastrunk led Baylor’s rushing attack with 1,117 yards and 11 rushing touchdowns last season. A groin injury kept him out of two games and hindered him in a third. Lache (pronounced Lake) Seastrunk is quick and elusive. He is one of those backs that has uncanny balance at times. He is a big play threat, especially around the edge. His desire for the big play can occasionally backfire though, which results in yards being left on the field at times.

Seastrunk would be an interesting mid-round addition behind Le’Veon Bell. He has been known to make bold claims in the past, which don’t always work out to his advantage. Some examples would include predicting the Heisman trophy, and running a sub 4.3 at the combine.  His actual 40 time at the combine was 4.51. He ran a 4.46 at his pro day. His broad and vertical jumps were the highest by any back at the combine. You can view his combine numbers here: http://thesteelersfans.com/2014-nfl-combine-results-running-backs/

The 5’9, 201 lb back wouldn’t make a prediction about where he’d go in the NFL draft.

“I don’t want to put anything out there,” Seastrunk told the Star-Telegram. “I just want to go in there and play to the best of my ability. You guys want me to say like I’m going to be the best player to ever play in the NFL, huh? I haven’t even [played] in the NFL. I’m just going to earn my job and earn my keep. That’s it.”

Here are a couple videos of Seastrunk in action last year at Baylor.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=oKNvNZxzymw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=cpmjGqi6hQY

Steelers Scheduled To Meet With LB Arthur Moats This Week

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The Steelers will host free agent linebacker Arthur Moats early this week, according to Alan Robinson of  the Tribune.

Moats was drafted by the Buffalo Bills in the 6th round of the 2010 draft. He played most of his snaps there at 4-3 defensive end and outside linebacker, but transitioned to ILB last year.  The 6’2, 250 lb ILB is rated as the highest remaining free agent inside linebacker by Rotoworld.

Moats is stout against the run, and possesses great position flexibility. A bit of trivia- he is the linebacker who became famous for ending Brett Favre’s starting streak in 2010. His catchphrase is “Don’t Cross The Moats”, which he has tatooed on his back.

Being that most of Steelers brass will be in Florida early in the week for league meetings, it’s hard to say who the linebacker will be meeting with exactly. Presumably, he’ll be meeting with front office, medical, and members of the defensive coaching staff. No other teams are in hot pursuit of Moats, at least, none that have been made public.