Monthly Archives: March 2014

Report: Medical Likely Why Sanders Hasn’t Been Signed Yet

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So far, Emmanuel Sanders has had visits with the Jacksonville Jaguars, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and the Kansas City Chiefs. He is reported to have a visit scheduled with the 49ers tomorrow. With this flurry of visits, one has to wonder- why doesn’t he have a contract yet?

The answer, according to Scott Brown of ESPN, is due to his medical history. Sanders missed very minimal time last season due to knee and foot injuries. The main injury concerns according to Brown, are due to the surgeries he’s had on his feet over two years ago. Durability was once a concern for the Steelers, though it hasn’t been an issue recently. The Patriots made an offer on Sanders last season, but teams often prioritize injury histories differently for one year rentals.

I have to think the bigger issue for Sanders is the money he’s reportedly seeking. According to Brown, Sanders is believed to be seeking Golden Tate money. Tate just signed a 5 year, $31.5 Mil deal, which included $13.25 in guaranteed money. If that’s true, Sanders is going to be disappointed.

The Steelers are reportedly open to having Sanders back, but there is no way they’ll offer him a contract anywhere in that ballpark. Sanders is coming off of his best season, but as we enter the 2nd wave of free agency, he’ll most likely need to consider lowering his expectations.

Ryan Clark Met With Panthers, No Word From Redskins

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According to Ryan Clark, he hasn’t had an offer from the Washington Redskins yet. With his history there, and the fact that they are in need of defensive backs, the signing would make sense.

The Charlotte Observer reports that the Panthers have recently had preliminary talks with Clark. Carolina has been courting safeties this week, and recently lost Pittsburgh’s newest safety to free agency. I’m sure Washington would be Clark’s first choice, but I can’t imagine a veteran in his position would be likely to decline any offer he receives. There was a rumor that the Redskins will be making an offer to him today, but that hasn’t apparently materialized.

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DE Alex Carrington’s Visit Ends Without Contract

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Alex Carrington’s much anticipated visit with the Steelers ended without a contract according to Ed Bouchette.

I would just be speculating at this point, but I have to think that his medical was a determining factor in today’s outcome. Carrington was placed on IR last September after suffering a quadriceps tendon tear. Reports have idicated recently that he’s not yet %100.

While he was here:

Carrington is said to be drawing interest from other teams, so maybe he’s fine from a health standpoint, and the Steelers just made him an offer that wasn’t up to his expectations. I’m sure we’ll hear more in the near future, and in the meantime, the Steelers will likely be making some calls to the agents of other defensive linemen.

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Steelers Sign DT Cam Thomas To 2 Year Deal

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According to his agent, the Steelers have signed DT Cam Thomas to a 2 year deal today. Thomas hit free agency this year after playing 547 snaps for the Chargers last year. San Diego drafted him in the 5th round of the 2010 draft, but he didn’t really see a starting role until last year. He lost the starting job in week ten to Sean Lissemore.

The details of the deal are obviously not yet known, but don’t expect it to break the bank. Try to resist the urge to draw too many conclusions from this signing. After the loss of Ziggy Hood and Al Woods, the team is very thin on the defensive line. More visits will be in the team’s future.

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Photo courtesy Instagram

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[Audio] LaMarr Woodley Signs With The Oakland Raiders

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LaMarr Woodley, who was released by the Steelers on Tuesday, has signed with the Oakland Raiders today. The deal is for 2 years, and totaled $12 Mil. The Raiders also signed former Giants pass rusher Justin Tuck today. While the Raiders are a 4-3 defense, I think Woodley will actually be pretty successful there.

On SiriusXM NFL tonight, Woodley spoke about signing with the Raiders. In the interview, he said that he thinks moving to a 4-3 will be easier for him. “They’ll use me to get after the quarterback…I think it’s a little bit harder standing up”, said Woodley. He went on to say that he thinks it’s easier to get after the quarterback with your hand in the dirt.

When asked about what he’d do to stay on the field more, he said he needs to get his small muscles stronger. By that, he’s referring to how to avoid calf strains or hamstring pulls. About injuries and being released, he said, “It was out of my control, but I put myself in that position by being hurt…that led to my release in Pittsburgh”

Lastly, and probably most interestingly to Steelers fans, Woodley talked about being released, and mentioned that the Steelers were going to ask him to take a pay cut if Worilds was signed by another team.

“They said if they signed Jason Worilds back, they were going to let me go, if they didn’t sign him back, they were going to ask me to take a pay cut.

Even when they put the transition tag on him, I hadn’t heard anything from anybody, and I found out that Monday that I was going to be let go.”

You can listen to the majority of that interview below. Thanks for stopping by and be sure to share with your friends.

[soundcloud]https://soundcloud.com/siriusxmsports/new-raiders-de-lamarr-woodley[/soundcloud]

Sanders Leaves Tampa Bay Without Contract, Visits Chiefs Friday

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Free agent wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders is scheduled to visit the Kansas City Chiefs tomorrow according to Ian Rapoport. Sanders has already had a visit with the Jacksonville Jaguars, and visited with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers today. It’s unclear whether or not either team offered Sanders a contract, but he definitely has not signed one as of the time of this writing.

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While Sanders may not be one of the top few remaining wide receivers on the free agent market,  I would be surprised if he remained unsigned much longer.

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Steelers Will Host NT Cam Thomas On Friday

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Gerry Dulac reports that Chargers free agent NT/DE Cam Thomas is scheduled to visit the Steelers on Friday. Thomas is 6’4, 320 lbs and carries the nickname of “Baby Zilla”.

Thomas started 10 games for the Chargers before losing the starting job to Sean Lissemore last season. He played a total of 547 snaps in 2013 for San Diego. Originally drafted in the 5th round of the 2010 draft, Thomas has been a solid zero tech at times, but has struggled with consistency. During the limited games I saw of him last year, he didn’t command two man blocks very often. In fact, he was pushed around by one man, though that may have just been a bad sampling. I’ll watch more of his coaches film to form a more complete opinion.

With the complete lack of depth on the Steelers defensive line right now, I imagine the team will be interested in lining up as many meetings with free agent DE/NT’s as they can.

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Photo courtesy Instagram

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Contract Details For Al Woods

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Al Woods signed with the Tennessee Titans last night. I have the contract details for you now, and I can say that he likely signed that contract as soon as the paper hit the table. The deal totaled $5 Mil, including a $1 Mil guaranteed signing bonus.

His first year salary is $900,000, and his second year salary is $2.1 million. The deal also includes up to $500,000 per year in incentives. While I like Woods as a versatile backup/role player, this is a lot for him. While many people are critical of the Steelers free agent moves, it’s easy to see that they are being smart with their own free agents so far.

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Colbert With Justin Gilbert Last Night, At Pro Day Today With Tomlin

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Oklahoma State held their Pro Day today at Sherman E. Smith Training Center, where at least 20 teams had representatives in attendance. Of course, the only team we care about is the Pittsburgh Steelers, who had Kevin Colbert on hand to observe prospects. Most notably, CB Justin Gilbert. Coach Mike Tomlin and other Steelers coaching staff members were also in attendance.

Tomlin and Colbert were also in Michigan yesterday to see CB Darqueze Dennard in action at Michigan State’s Pro Day. According to Tony Pauline, Colbert and other coaches (Tomlin included most likely) were meeting with Gilbert last night before today’s Pro Day.

Gilbert did nothing to hurt his already superb draft stock today. He opted out of some events that he did at the combine (40 yd, bench), but did some footwork and positional drills. Gil Brandt noted that he looked exceptional in his positional drills today, especially in his backpedal.

Regardless of the team’s moves in free agency, it’s difficult to imagine a scenario where Gilbert is on the board at #15 and the Steelers pass on him.

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Ziggy Hood’s Contract Details

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Now that the dust has settled, I can provide you with the details of Ziggy Hood’s contract with the Jacksonville Jaguars. Before I do, I can tell you that there’s no way that the Steelers would place that kind of value on him, which would be why it appears that they just ‘let him go’.

His contract is a 4 year deal, totaling $16 Mil. $5.5 Mil is fully guaranteed. There is a $2 Mil roster bonus due in 2014- $2 Mil of his 2014 salary is fully guaranteed.

Looking at the other contracts the Jaguars are issuing, it appears that they are on a spending spree. There is just no way the Steelers would give Hood this kind of deal.