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.