Author Archives: Steve Alan

About Steve Alan

Steve, known by most as TTF, is owner of TheSteelersFans and administrator of the best Steelers message board on the net. Big fan of strong coffee and hardcore Steelers fan from womb to tomb.

Brice McCain In Contract Talks With Miami

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Free agent cornerback Brice McCain is in Miami tonight according to the Miami Herald. The two sides have already discussed a contract, and the Dolphins are reportedly very interested. The Steelers have a 3 year offer on the table according to Armando Salguero. The Vikings are also interested in McCain.

The Steelers signed McCain last spring, and the former Texans cornerback proved to be a good pick up. Of his 671 snaps on defense last year, the 5’9″ corner ended the season with 3 interceptions. We’ll see what comes of this over the next day or so.

Steelers Tender Offers To 3 Restricted Free Agents

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The Steelers have tendered offers to all 3 of their restricted free agents. CB Antwon Blake, S Robert Golden, and TE Will Johnson have all been offered the lowest round tender of $1.542 Mil. The team would not receive compensation if they were signed by another team, but by tendering them, they have the right of first refusal.

It was anyone’s guess as to whether or not the team would tender all three of them, but there isn’t really a wrong answer here. The Steelers can also sign the players to long term deals do get their numbers down.

I’d wager this year will be relatively drama free on the RFA front for a change.

Steelers Re-Sign Matt Spaeth To Two Year Deal

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The Steelers have agreed to terms with veteran tight end Matt Spaeth today.

https://twitter.com/ScottBrown_ESPN/status/575009305159712768

The contract is for two years. The financial terms aren’t immediately available. Spaeth was originally drafted by the Steelers in the 3rd round of the 2007 draft. After leaving to play with the Bears for a couple seasons, Spaeth returned to Pittsburgh in 2013.

While not a sexy signing, Spaeth brings a lot to the table as a blocker. About staying in Pittsburgh, the 6’7″ tight end said, “I think of Pittsburgh as home now. This organization is the best in the world, and I am just happy to be back.”

Steelers Release Brett Keisel

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The Pittsburgh Steelers have released veteran defensive end Brett Keisel.

The move is slightly unexpected right now as releasing Keisel saves just $1.5 Mil against the 2015 salary cap before replacement cost. Keisel is coming off a serious triceps injury however, and he recently had surgery to clean up his shoulder. He will be 37 in September. Still stings a bit with Cam Thomas remaining on the roster.

Kevin Colbert issued a statement about his release. “We have had conversations over the past couple of weeks during which we communicated our intentions to him. Brett has played a major role in our success during his 13 years in Pittsburgh. We appreciate his efforts and we are grateful for what he helped us accomplish. We will always consider him an all-time Pittsburgh Steeler.”

https://twitter.com/bkeisel99/status/575032045468061696

Steelers Re-Sign Arthur Moats To 3 Year Deal

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The Steelers have re-signed veteran linebacker Arthur Moats. The deal is for 3 years, with a total value of $7.5 Mil according to reports.

https://twitter.com/steelers/status/574991302154153984

https://twitter.com/dabody52/status/574983855599415297

https://twitter.com/CamHeyward/status/574988488015286272

Re-signing Moats was a key part of the offseason plan. Moats was a solid contributor last season. Over the course of the 337 snaps he saw on defense, he had 4 sacks and 2 forced fumbles. While he contributed on both sides at outside linebacker, he was also a productive special teamer. While the Steelers still need to lock down the OLB position, this takes takes some of the pressure off.

Steelers Offer Update On Troy Polamalu

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The Steelers provided a brief update on Troy Polamalu’s contract status this morning. The update: there is no update. Here is the full release provided on the team’s website.

“At this time, we do not have an update on Troy Polamalu or his contract status. We will continue to communicate with Troy and his representatives regarding his future.”

Why release a statement with no real information? Perhaps it was strategic. If the front office hasn’t heard much from Troy’s camp, maybe they’re looking to light a subtle fire under them.

Troy is slotted to count $8.25 Mil against the cap this year if nothing changes. The odds of that happening are about as close to none as it can get. The likely scenarios are: a) the team releases Troy and designates him a June 1st cut. b) the team asks Troy to take a very significant pay cut. c) Troy retires.

The team could outright release Troy, but the difference between that and a June 1st designation is $2.25 Mil in cap savings this year. If Troy were to retire, the team could possibly recoup some of his signing bonus money, but that gets a little murky, and recent rumors have indicated Troy doesn’t plan on retiring.

Regardless of how it plays out, Troy’s future in Pittsburgh will be known very soon.

Steelers Sign QB Tajh Boyd To One Year Deal

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The Steelers have signed former Clemson Tigers Quarterback Tajh Boyd to a one year deal today.

https://twitter.com/steelers/status/573921303813603328

Boyd went from having a first round grade, to being picked in the 6th round by the Jets last year.

https://twitter.com/nfldraftscout/status/373960121845432320

The Jets cut him after training camp last summer.

The 6’1″, 225 lb QB threw for over 3,800 yards each year he started at Clemson, and threw at least 33 touchdowns each of those 3 years. Stats aside, Boyd is a project, and he’ll be battling for that 3rd QB spot this summer. You know, the one Landry Jones has held the past two seasons.

After getting cut by the Jets, he spent time playing in the FXFL last fall. One of Boyd’s former FXFL coaches, who works with NFL QB’s in the offseason, recently said he thinks Boyd could develop on an NFL roster. “He could be one of three, he could be one of four going into camp, and I think his skill set might allow him to win one of those jobs, whether it was a No. 3, and then with time he would grow. And I think he will if somebody has a chance to develop him.”

If nothing else, Boyd will get a chance to throw some balls to his old receiver Martavis Bryant in Latrobe this summer.

https://twitter.com/TajhB10/status/573892682663264256

https://twitter.com/ThaBestUNO/status/573901601447940096

Steelers Release WR Lance Moore

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The Steelers have released veteran wide receiver Lance Moore today. Moore signed a 2 year, $3 Mil deal with the team last March, but asked for his release last month. When all the signs point to your release, it looks better if it was at your request.

By releasing Moore, the Steelers save $1.5 Mil in cap space for 2015. The release also carries a dead money hit of $322,500.

Steelers Make Some Contract Moves To Clear Cap Space

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The Steelers have restructured some contracts today to free up some salary cap room for the 2015 season.

According to Jason LaCanfora, the team restructured the contracts of Marcus Gilbert, Mike Mitchell, and Maurkice Pouncey. The total of the three transactions saves approximately $9.5 Mil in cap space, putting them approximately $10 Mil under the cap.

Gilbert’s restructure cleared apx. $3.76 Mil in 2015 cap space. His upcoming roster bonus and most of his base salary were rolled into a signing bonus.

According to Mark Kaboly of the Trib, Pouncey’s restructure isn’t official yet, and won’t be finalized until next week. Mitchell had a $2 Mil roster bonus coming up. Adding that to the maximum base salary available for restructuring would clear $2,441,250.

Going by LaCanfora’s numbers, we’re left with roughly $3.3 Mil with Pouncey’s contract. Pouncey also has a roster bonus due soon for the amount of $3.75 Mil. The maximum the team could clear by restructuring his contract is $3.804 Mil.

James Harrison Says He Isn’t Retiring This Year

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James Harrison announced that he’s not planning to retire this year via his social media accounts last night.

https://twitter.com/jharrison9292/status/569646561023688704

The 36 year old came out of brief retirement last year to sign a one year deal with the Steelers. The deal was for the veteran minimum including a $65,000 signing bonus, which qualified for the veteran minimum salary benefit. I would expect the same deal this year if the Steelers decide to re-sign him. According to Harrison’s agent, the veteran linebacker wishes to return to Pittsburgh in 2015.

While he may not have been the James Harrison of 2008, he was a solid run defender, and was the most efficient OLB in terms of getting his hands on quarterbacks last season. Plan on the Steelers to wait for free agency to play out before bringing Harrison back if they decide to do so.