Offer #48 a respectable contact.

You haven't been watching that closely. He has had some splash plays which has helped the cause. But he is constantly standing there after a play is finished, still takes bad angles all the stuff we have or most have seen his first 4 years. Can he be a #1 on some other team? He can't, but someone will pay him to be. And the 5 years 60 mill? Or franchising him? At 16 some mill? Common.They need to sign the Gravedigger.

 

Agree on standing around and some bad angles, but if you remember his only pass rush was the big loops around the tackles, he has stopped doing that on every pass rush and even seen him make a move where he starts on the outside then goes to the inside which has gotten him some sacks. You never saw that in his 1st 4 years. He used to play like a 4th rounder now maybe 2nd rounder.

Not saying give him the bank account but a reasonable offer. Then if he refuses so be it.

 

Bud is gone in March 2020. He'll command top dollar from several 3-4 OLB-starved teams. He'd be crazy to take a home town discount with the Steelers.

Steelers can't afford him anyway... they have salaries of Roethlisberger, Tuitt, Heyward and Pouncey eating cap.

 

Hey Roonatic.

I think this is the next logical step. Management has to know did the "Proverbial Light" just finally go on with Bud? Hopefully, that is what happened. Now Bud, needs to show us for the rest of the season and next. Then we can talk long-term turkey. He should be appreciative that they extended him Year #5. I know, I know it is a business where loyalty is rarely reciprocated. I get it.

And yes, most people do not want to work under the conditions of a 1-Year deal. Neither would I. I get that. They want job security and for NFL players it is usually the second contract (if they get that far) that is the "Big Payday". I like where Bud is right now but we did do a lot of adjusting on the "D" to put him in the most advantageous situation(s) to become "Successful". We even alienated James Harrison to make this work for him. Given that he did collect a cool nine Million this year. Make the one-year deal "respectful" and "cap-friendly". That is all I am saying.


STEELWINDS AKA The East Side Kid

 

Yeah unless they tag him he is almost certainly gone and they’ll get a comp pick 2021. All the good OLB’s will be gone by the time they pick in 2020 so you are probably looking at a placeholder free agent until the 2021 draft unless they decide that Ola is ready. They will lose Chickillo this off season as well unless they restructure him. What’s the bet Watt gets injured when they are all gone!

 

Much rather sign Javon.

 

I don't see much drop off from Bud to Ola. Adeniyi is more than capable, IMO... of giving us Bud's production in 2020. We don't need a super star OLB.... just need a workman-like OLB who gets the job done.... like Haggans and Worilds in the past. Let Watt get all of the glory.

 

I’d imagine he will get offers north of $10m so he might be gone too, and they certainly aren’t tagging him at $15m. If they hadn’t given Tuitt that massive contract it would be an easy decision to keep him but I’m thinking he will be too expensive for the Steelers with the cap obligations they already have at the position.

 

He has been injury prone though. That’s a big worry with Ola but if he is healthy and ready then great

 

I get a kick out of how everybody was ready to kick Dupree to the curb and now they're singing praises.

I agree Bud is as good as gone after this year. Someone will be paying him big money in free agency, and it won't be the Steelers.

As I've said before, I predict him to go on to be a journeyman OLB that gets overpaid that gets passed from team to team.

Yet another beneficiary of a talented Steelers defensive front who will go on to not be this disruptive force someone will be paying him to be.

 

Ola is a typical Steeler fan camp favorite / preseason favorite player much like the tuzar skipper obsession. They gotta find a way to pay bud or draft another LB. Ola has shown NOTHING to be considered the next man up.

 

Regardless, a mid-to-minor FA and/or the picks from Rounds 2-4 will have to rebuild whatever leaves the front 7. Unless you believe Edmunds moves to OLB. Depending on what strengths/weaknesses they see in the draft might determine if Bud or Javon get signed. It certainly can't be both. I don't think Bud will be that hard to replace.

I don't see the offense changing much other than possibly LG.

 

Bud earned his praise this year.

 

Why did he not live up to his contract the first 4 years?

 

It is a contract year. He has every motivation to be playing his best football with millions of dollars on the line.

The point being was how fast tunes can change.

 

Well Bud will be gone. You heard it here. He will be testing free agency and someone will overpay him IMO.

Ola apparently has not impressed coaching staff all that much otherwise he'd get more playing time. I do think drafting an edge rusher is top priority.

 

Honestly, why should he be appreciative? He signed a contract with the Steelers that gave the team an option, they exercised it. The amount of pay he had little say in, the slot he was picked in determined the pay, the option was determined by some formula. The Steelers could have balked and not picked up the option, let him wlak and invested that 8 or 9 million somewhere else. A one year deal (other than a franchise tag) would be ridicules and insulting. At least the tag shows that the team wants to negotiate a long term deal. Even if they could find the money for the tag, I would not do it, rather us the transition tag. Let him see what the market is and if the Steelers want to match they can.

 

Difficulty with the transition tag is that if he gets a huge offer and the Steelers decide not to match it you get no compensatory pick afterwards. Some desperate team like New York will throw money at him so the transition tag might be risky.

I think they let him test the market without tagging him and if he gets a big offer you have to let him go.

 

Injuries

 

Tag Alvin for a year, see if we can get some draft picks out of him.
If not, Ben will have a defense again next year to go out with a bang or whimper.

 

I guess the question is how often does a young guy coming off a career year give a discount to their team? I have not seen it much so I am just asking. With that said we have Watt and Fitzpatrick to lock up long term. Saying that right now we have 94 mil locked up on defense already which I do believe is 4th highest in the league for that side of the ball. We have tons of money spent on our DE's 14.9 and 13.2 mil, Haden and Nelson 12.6 and 10.7 but we do have guys like Barron and Chick making big money that we can move on from.

I can see a tag for 1 year but not a long term deal which I would think would be some place between Mack 6yr/141 mil and Z. Smiths deal lat year of 4yr/66mil. That to me is to much when you consider you will break the back for Watt who I would rather pay and am all for. There just is no way we pay Tuitt, Heyward, Watt, Dupree, Haden and Nelson all 10+ mil.

Now people are asking well what do we do we have nobody. There is a good group of FA's coming out this year. Right now you have Bud, Clowney, Barrett and Fowler as the top guys maybe one falls to our price range. If not I also like Lynch from the Bears and also Beasley from the Falcons. We are not stuck just because we don't sign Bud, I feel we are stuck signing him cause then we would have zero money for anything else.

 

I'd lock up watt first. He hasn't peaked yet, bud I think has. Make an offer but keep it on the show me low end for the first few seasons. He takes it or doesnt. There are probably players that would love to play opposite tj.

 

I'd go with best RB available with the second round pick. An RB in round 2 could start immediately and would be better and more productive than an OLB, IMO. All of the OLBs who can hit the ground running will be gone by mid way through the 1st round.

 

Agree. The chances of finding a OLB that can step in right away in the second round is very slim. I think the second round is a little high to draft a RB unless the top 1 or 2 falls. What would we do with the trio we have now at RB as well? They’re all under contract and young. We could definitely use a quality pass catching TE and wouldn’t be opposed to a big body type WR either,even though I like Cain to play a part next season. OL should/could should be considered as well. I think the offense needs to get a piece early in the draft. Maybe KC keeps surprising us and does some wheeling and dealing. Quality over quantity? Since we don’t have much quantity anyway?

 

Remember LaMarr Woodley's bad contract?

We gave Lamarr Woodley a big contract and he never lived up to it:

Woodley signed a six-year, $61.5 million contract, which is still the biggest contract the Steelers ever gave to a defensive player.