free agency

http://www.steelersdepot.com/2016/03/sendejo-contract-shape-market-golden/
this says alot. this is what i mean when i talk about re-signing gay. is it really our best move if we want a #1 cb. it may take more than we think to sign golden back. i do think he would be more important to the secondary than gay might be at this point. we have cockrell that can most likely be a #2 corner for us. gay is no #1 that is for sure and at some point will start to fade at his age even as a #2. if golson is going to be the new slot man, wouldn't we be smarter in getting the safety spot sealed up with golden and mitchell and add a draft pick first? cockrell as the two and get a better #1 to start. then bring in some slot help if needed or just use golson.

i just see it as using alot of resources for not alot of return, and still needing to add a top player at that spot. maybe golden should be upgraded as well. to me it seems like a waste of money to sign two guys and still need two more to get to where we want to be. not counting draft picks. this to me seems like one of those think with your head and not your heart moments.

 

I talked about not signing Gay in the Mckelvin thread and got a dislike....lol! As much as Gay was our best corner is he a #1 and like you pointed out we have Cockrell as a #2. If we upgrade the other safety spot I feel we could get by with Gay, Cockrell, Golson and hope we get something out of Grant and a draft pick this year, but we will have to spend to get a safety.
I have read Quddus as a player of interest by a few writers. I also found Jefferson mentioned s a very good under the radar guy and what I like about that is a couple things. First he would cost compensation and second it would be nice to take a guy from the cards instead of it being the other way around........ For the record as bad as our secondary was I feel you have to add some new faces, and I am not talking about Golson as being one of them. jmo

 

Guys I like Gay. He is still here because he is smart. Usually don't think much different that Mac but on Gay I do. I say on opening day we shoot Blake in both kneecaps so he can't see the field. Keep Gay, Cockrell, Golson and Grant then a few subs, and 1 or 2 on the PS. I do want to keep Golden back there too

 

Gay was my most disliked Steeler in his 1st go around here, so for me to say this you know he impressed. Since coming back here from the Cards I don't know what changed but he has been nothing less then good. If we upgrade safety then I have no problem with Gay, Cockrell, Golson, Grant and a draft pick. Note I want a CB in this draft so he can learn a year and ease into our D.

Now as for Golden I don't mind him here as depth and the only way I have him start is if we sign a #1 type CB. We can't just get all new players so I am fine with keeping some but the roles have to be defined.

 

I honestly think that their are 4 safeties that can come in and start in this draft. I think we need to draft one in round 1 or 2.

I think u look at which player is better. Imo, gay is better and more beneficial.

I don't dislike golden but I don't think he is a starter. If they have to choose I would chose gay

 

I know times are changing but how often has a player came right in and start? I don't doubt there are some that can come in and start it just don't happen, maybe it does this year.

 

I think that philosophy is gone.

 

i'm not really doubting gays ability here just the fact that we will have a limited amount of resources to spend as the highlighted thread says. a safety at about goldens stature got 4 mil. a year. mccain got 2.5 mil. a year. what will it cost us to sign gay back? 5-6 mil.? maybe more? if we sign golden and gay we could be looking at 10 mil.. we still don't have a #1 corner or a real starting safety that way.

don't forget if cockrell works out as a #2 corner we would then have to re-sign him next year as a starter or we are back in the same boat and we have alot more big contracts to get signed at that point. the best corner we had was gay but it was still the best corner on the 30th ranked pass defense. so was michell at safety.

do we spend 5-6 mil. on gay or do we spend 5-6 mil. plus say another mil. or two on a guy younger and a #1 instead?

i do think golden at safety with mitchell will be good enough until one of these draft picks i'm banking on us getting would take over. same could be said with corner, but then we have a lot of money tied up with an aging gay at that spot for the next couple of years. where would golson fit if we move gay to slot then? we could have a 5-7 mil. dollar reserve at that point in gay if golson shows something and willie probably wouldn't be playing ST's at his age.

i'm just trying to figure out our best option going forward for the next couple of years and not having to go through all of this every year. cohesion is a big factor too. getting these guys on the same page for a couple of years would and should help them get better instead of rentals short term.

 

butler is big on knowing assignments first or you don't see the field. shazier has really been the only guy they have changed that about lately. even dupree and jones didn't see full time starting spots their first years. nor did tuitt and so on. just sayin.

 

I thought dupree played alot more snaps than moats did?

 

eventually but not immediately.

 

Just a question. Are you more comfortable going into season with mitchell and golden or say mitchell and bell?

 

it ended up with harrison at 55%, dupree at 51%, moats at 50% and jj at 41%.

 

i'd feel comfortable with mitchell and golden and bell brought along as the year progressed. if he's the pick. alot would also depend on who the corners were. with younger corners, i'd have to say mitchell and golden for sure. remember if golson is on the field as the slot in this scenario we would already have two younger guys out there if golson and cockrell are playing and 3 if bell, cockrell and golson are playing. thats assuming gay is the other corner. grant may figure in this group too if he's moved to safety.

cockrell playing a good bit last year is a big help. golden has been in this defense for several years too and i think would be a big help back there. at least this is my initial thoughts. how young do we get or how old do we remain with knowledge will be a fine line in the secondary this year.

 

we should pick a safety and acb in free agency , then draft the same spot in may , who was there was not able enough . we think gay is good because the others are worst
i thought we need to improve our secondary with the same player we are not

 

I honestly don't remember that I remember cursing a ton at him in his 1st time here. As for why people think we are bad in cap space is cause we are....right now. We have just over 8 mil and need a LG, LT, S, CB, NT, and depth at other positions which we can't get all in the draft. Now if Timmons and DD extend we are gonna gain all that. We will also probably gain with the cutting of Sushi and Allen and maybe a little turning Ben's money into a bonus. I am not worried about the cap but as it stands right now we only have 8 mil for a lot of needs.I will not count the other stuff until it happens.....which I am sure it will.

 

If Gay is seeing 6 mil a year then we shouldn't sign him... I highly doubt he sees that tho. He didn't have success in AZ and really is nothing more that a CB2 that could decline in the future. He does have position flexibility into the slot, but I doubt there are many teams that would be super excited to throw a bunch of money at him. I'd be willing to bet his dollar amount is less than 5mil a year. He's worth 4 mil or so IMO. Especially on a shorter term contract of 2-3 years.

 

Yes it says that in the link, that's what I was referring to. they could match but it wouldn't cost us comp.

 

Your talking 2 different things, if you are saying we are better then we usually are then yes for sure you are right. We are usually trying to free up money just to get under the cap. However you said we are in good shape cap wise, no we are we are the 6th worst. If I am correct 4-5 mil covers the rookie class which I feel is Allen's June 1 cut money.

We are in good cap position compared to years past, but we are not in good cap position to make moves with all the needs we have......at least right now.

 

Really we know they are gonna extend Timmons and DD, we know for a fact that they cut Allen at June 1? I sure as hell hope we do but we don't know that for sure, are we in uncharted waters as being under the cap at this time but that don't mean we are in good shape. Jags have 80 mil, Radiers 60, Giants 55, 49ers 53, Clowns 49 etc...... take a look when you are 3rd from the bottom your not in good shape, once these moves are made then it will be a different story. FA is just a couple days away they better get going on these deals right?

http://overthecap.com/salary-cap-space/

 

NY vs Blast and me like