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.

Kelvin Beachum Has Earned Performance Based Pay For 2013

Leave a reply

Steelers offensive tackle Kelvin Beachum has earned a payout of $236,666.97 for his production during the 2013 season. Beachum played 840 snaps for the Steelers last year, 722 of which were at left tackle. The 2012 7th round pick out of Southern Methodist had a base salary of $480,000 last year. In 2014, the 3rd year of his rookie deal, his base salary is $570,000. His contract included a signing bonus of  just $45,896.

The Performance Based Pay system was developed under the previous CBA to supplement player compensation. Each team gets $3.46 Mil as part of the agreement between NFL management and the NFLPA. Beachum, and several other players in the league, will get their checks April 1, 2016. The money does not count against the salary cap.

 

Steelers To Sign LB Arthur Moats To 1 Year Deal

Leave a reply

According to ProFootballTalk, the Steelers are signing linebacker Arthur Moats to a one year deal. According to Jerry Dulac, Moats met with Kevin Colbert and Mike Tomlin before they left for the league meetings in Florida.

Moats was slated to visit the team today, well…probably today, according to Alan Robinson yesterday.

The addition of Moats comes as a low risk move to add depth at the inside/outside linebacker positions. Moats was drafted by the Buffalo Bills in the 6th round of the 2010 draft. While playing most of his snaps as a DE and Sam LB in their scheme, he transitioned to inside linebacker last season, and proved to be a solid run blocker.

Moats, 26, has position versatility and is a solid special teams contributor. He started 12 games for the Bills last year, and of the 301 snaps he saw, he totaled 54 tackles.

This signing doesn’t particularly bode well for those hoping to see James Harrison return to the Steelers anytime soon.

Baylor RB Lache Seastrunk To Visit The Steelers

1 Reply

Former Baylor running back Lache Seastrunk tells the Star-Telegram that he has a visit lined up with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Seastrunk led Baylor’s rushing attack with 1,117 yards and 11 rushing touchdowns last season. A groin injury kept him out of two games and hindered him in a third. Lache (pronounced Lake) Seastrunk is quick and elusive. He is one of those backs that has uncanny balance at times. He is a big play threat, especially around the edge. His desire for the big play can occasionally backfire though, which results in yards being left on the field at times.

Seastrunk would be an interesting mid-round addition behind Le’Veon Bell. He has been known to make bold claims in the past, which don’t always work out to his advantage. Some examples would include predicting the Heisman trophy, and running a sub 4.3 at the combine.  His actual 40 time at the combine was 4.51. He ran a 4.46 at his pro day. His broad and vertical jumps were the highest by any back at the combine. You can view his combine numbers here: http://thesteelersfans.com/2014-nfl-combine-results-running-backs/

The 5’9, 201 lb back wouldn’t make a prediction about where he’d go in the NFL draft.

“I don’t want to put anything out there,” Seastrunk told the Star-Telegram. “I just want to go in there and play to the best of my ability. You guys want me to say like I’m going to be the best player to ever play in the NFL, huh? I haven’t even [played] in the NFL. I’m just going to earn my job and earn my keep. That’s it.”

Here are a couple videos of Seastrunk in action last year at Baylor.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=oKNvNZxzymw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=cpmjGqi6hQY

Steelers Scheduled To Meet With LB Arthur Moats This Week

Leave a reply

The Steelers will host free agent linebacker Arthur Moats early this week, according to Alan Robinson of  the Tribune.

Moats was drafted by the Buffalo Bills in the 6th round of the 2010 draft. He played most of his snaps there at 4-3 defensive end and outside linebacker, but transitioned to ILB last year.  The 6’2, 250 lb ILB is rated as the highest remaining free agent inside linebacker by Rotoworld.

Moats is stout against the run, and possesses great position flexibility. A bit of trivia- he is the linebacker who became famous for ending Brett Favre’s starting streak in 2010. His catchphrase is “Don’t Cross The Moats”, which he has tatooed on his back.

Being that most of Steelers brass will be in Florida early in the week for league meetings, it’s hard to say who the linebacker will be meeting with exactly. Presumably, he’ll be meeting with front office, medical, and members of the defensive coaching staff. No other teams are in hot pursuit of Moats, at least, none that have been made public.

LeGarrette_Blount

Report: LeGarrette Blount’s Visit Rescheduled

Leave a reply

LeGarrette Blount was scheduled to visit the Steelers on Sunday night and Monday. According to the National Football Post, that visit has been rescheduled to Friday, after the league meetings have concluded.

Coach Tomlin and Kevin Colbert will be at the meetings this week, so Blount would not be able to meet with either of them if the visit wasn’t rescheduled. The Ravens are also rumored to be interested in the running back, as are the Patriots, but I can’t see Baltimore having a legitimate interest in him.

Thanks for stopping by, and as always, be sure to share with your friends.

LeGarrette_Blount

RB LeGarrette Blount Is Scheduled To Visit Steelers

Leave a reply

The National Football Post reports that former New England Patriots running back LeGarrette Blount is scheduled to visit the Steelers Sunday night and Monday. Blount is 6’0″, 241 lbs and rushed for a total of 772 yards with 7 touchdowns. During the playoff victory over Indianapolis, Blount ran for 166 yards and had 4 touchdowns.

Blount would be a good number two behind Bell. While he is a poor pass catcher, he is a sledge hammer that can wear down opponents. The Patriots and other teams are also reportedly interested in Blount. I’d be very surprised personally if this meeting ends with a signing. The Steelers don’t have a lot of cap space to play with currently, and I imagine the Patriots are just letting other teams set the value for him.

This is the former Oregon running back’s first free agency visit. Thanks for stopping by, and as always, be sure to share with your friends.

Steelers Sign WR Lance Moore To 2 Year Deal

Leave a reply

The Steelers have announced that they have agreed to terms with former Saints wide receiver Lance Moore. This is a good addition to a depleted wide receiver corps.


Moore is coming off a down year, but has been very productive in the past. 2012 was a huge year for him, where he averaged 16 YPC. Various factors led to his drop in production in 2013 including a nagging wrist injury and being behind names like Colston, Sproles, and Jimmy Graham on the roster. I think Steelers fans will be happy about this signing in the fall.

Thanks for stopping by, and as always, be sure to share with your friends.

Source: Wikimedia Commons

Panthers Sign Cotchery To Five Year Deal

Leave a reply

The Panthers signed former Steelers wide receiver Jerricho Cotchery to a five year deal yesterday.

There were early reports stating that it was a two year deal, but those were not correct. Cotchery’s contract is a 5 year deal, totaling $8.015 Mil. The deal includes a $2.25 Mil guaranteed signing bonus. The deal also includes a $50,000 workout bonus in 2015. Here is a breakdown of the contract.

[table]

Player, Year, Base Salary, Prorated Signing Bonus, Salary Cap Number

“Cotchery, Jerricho”, 2014, “$1,250,000”, “$450,000”, “$1,700,000”
“Cotchery, Jerricho”, 2015, “$1,450,000”, “$450,000”, “$1,950,000”
“Cotchery, Jerricho”, 2016, “$1,000,000”, “$450,000”, “$1,450,000”

“Cotchery, Jerricho”, 2017, “$1,000,000”, “$450,000”, “$1,450,000”

“Cotchery, Jerricho”, 2018, “$1,015,000”, “$450,000”, “$1,465,000”

[/table]

As you can see, this is a good deal for Cotchery, and a better one than the Steelers would have offered certainly. On top of that, Cotchery played at NC State in college, and has friends and family there. About the signing, Cotchery said, “I’m home. I’m coming back home.”

“I left Ben Roethlisberger. If you’re going to leave a quarterback like that, you better be sure that you’re going to go to someone that can play at a high level.”, Cotchery told the Panthers website.

150px-NotreDameFightingIrish.svg

Steelers Staff Busy At Notre Dame Pro Day

Leave a reply

Kevin Colbert, Mike Tomlin, Joey Porter, and other Steelers staff members were in attendance today to see Notre Dame’s prospects work out in front of scouts from all 32 NFL teams. The Steelers were no doubt interested in seeing players like NT Louis Nix III, DE Stephon Tuitt, TE Troy Niklas, LB Prince Shembo, CB Bennett Jackson, OL Zack Martin, RB George Atkinson III, and more in person.

Tomlin was one of two head coaches in attendance, and Colbert one of the few GMs. Joey Porter was also on hand to help with player evaluation. Scouts from all 32 teams there also. The event received a great deal of media coverage, much of which found it’s way onto Twitter. Here’s Porter and Colbert keeping track of ten yard splits.

Here is Colbert collaborating with scouts after a 40 yard dash.


Possibly the highlight of the day was when head coach Mike Tomlin sat in as center while Louis Nix did drills.


A scout for the 49ers reportedly asked Tomlin to stand in for the drill. When asked about the experience, Nix said, “I heard Mike Tomlin liked big thighs…I tried to show them off for him. That’s why I wore my tights.” Nix, who is never without jokes, went on to say, “It wasn’t intimidating…I just wanted to look in his eyes and show him I am ready.” A lot of people have mocked Nix to the Steelers with the 15th pick, a scenario I’ve never agreed with personally. Nix weighed in at 331 today. Official times have not been released yet, but you can see Nix running the 40 and doing the bench below.

It probably seemed like Nix was the star of the show, and while that might be partially true, several attendees didn’t participate in drills. Stephon Tuitt showed up with his foot in a boot, due to a recent surgery he had to mend a foot fracture. TE Troy Niklas also didn’t participate because he is recovering from a sports hernia.
As a side note, Mike Golic Jr., who spent training camp with the Steelers last year, was also there working out for scouts. His dad was also there to cheer him on.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CpLaAId0zIU