The Steelers have signed DE Cam Heyward to a new 6 year deal today.
https://twitter.com/CamHeyward/status/621848187591127042
Heyward was due $6.969 Mil this year after the team picked up his 5th year option in May. The 2011 first round pick had 7.5 sacks, 33 tackles, and batted 4 passes last season.
According to Ed Bouchette (and confirmed by Schefter), the 6 year deal has a total value of $59.25 Mil. I’ll break down the contract details when I have a better idea of the guarantees.
The Pittsburgh Steelers will wear the 1934 Bumble Bee throwbacks again this season when they host the Cincinnati Bengals November 1st. This marks the 5th time in four seasons that the team has donned the much maligned striped uniforms.
While they may not be easy on the eyes, the team has done well wearing them lately. Here’s a rundown of how they’ve performed while sporting the throwbacks.
Week 8 2012, Vs Redskins- W 27-12
Week 11 2012, Vs Ravens- L 10-13
Week 11 2013, Vs Lions- W 31-27
Week 8 2014, Vs Colts- W 51-34
The Steelers signed two of their draft picks to contracts today. Fourth-round pick Doran Grant and sixth-round pick Anthony Chickillo both signed their 4 year rookie deals this morning. The financial details weren’t immediately released, but the NFL’s rookie wage system makes it pretty easy to accurately predict their values.
Grant’s 4 year deal should have a total value of just over $2.763 Mil, including a signing bonus of $489,012. His 2015 cap number will be right around $557,253, but will only move the cap needle $122,253 after displacement.
Chickillo’s 4 year deal should have a total value of approximately $2,370,487. His signing bonus will be $90,487, and his 2015 cap number will be $457,621.
The Steelers now have 3 draft picks under contract. L.T. Walton, another sixth-round pick, signed last week.
In what was later described as an easy decision by Steelers GM Kevin Colbert, the team selected pass rusher Bud Dupree with the 22nd pick tonight. Expect to see him contributing early on the left side this season. Dupree was voted the Steelers first round pick in our fantasy mock, so kudos to those who voted.
https://twitter.com/Bud_Dupree2/status/593969836591579136
“We didn’t expect Bud Dupree to be there. It was a very easy decision. We believe we got an impact player in Bud Dupree. This is a gift for us to get him at No. 22.”
Most mock drafts seemed to agree with Colbert. Dupree was projected by many to go earlier. A high character, high football IQ prospect, he shouldn’t have a problem putting in the work to hone his technique at the NFL level. Joey Porter described him as a football junkie earlier this evening.
Dupree, 6’4″, 269 lbs, is raw, but has a very high ceiling, and has the tools in place to be a dominant NFL player. For what it’s worth, the Steelers first round pick was the only one given an A+ by CBS sports. For what it’s worth.
Antonio Brown made his first real comments on Twitter today since reports came out suggesting that he was considering holding out for a new contract. Brown took to Twitter today to tell his fans that he’s spending time with his newborn baby. Brown says he’s a dad first, and that he can’t wait to reunite with his teammates.
https://twitter.com/AntonioBrown84/status/590913398549905408
https://twitter.com/AntonioBrown84/status/590914953403572227
If you were to look at his Twitter mentions over the past couple of days, you’d probably be surprised at how many people took the rumors of his contract woes personally. Brown doesn’t owe anyone an explanation, but this should help tamper some of the anger many Steelers fans seem to be feeling. Spending time with your newborn baby is a pretty good reason to miss voluntary workouts.
Many players don’t attend voluntary workouts anyway, so there really isn’t anything to even talk about at this point. The team can’t act until a player misses mandatory mini-camp, and I’d imagine Brown will be in attendance. With 3 years left on his contract, he surely must know that the odds of the team doing anything with his contract this year aren’t in his favor.
The NFL has released the 2015 Pittsburgh Steelers schedule. As you can see, it’s pretty brutal.
The Steelers face the Patriots in Foxborough to kick off the season, and that will be without RB Le’Veon Bell. Not that he’s the playmaker Bell is, but the Patriots will also be without RB LeGarrette Blount. Bell will miss the 49ers and the Rams games, but fortunately won’t be sidelined for any divisional matchups.
The Steelers once again have the maximum 5 primetime games allowed by the league, two of which are Thursday night games (Patriots and vs. Ravens). The Steelers are 2-6 on the road on Thursday nights.
The bye comes later in the season this year- week 11, which is good, because the toughest stretch of the schedule comes following the bye week starting with the Steelers traveling to Seattle. The team requested to have their west coast games be consecutive this year, but it appears the NFL wasn’t sympathetic.
The Steelers only have 1 of their 6 divisional games before November 1st.
Antonio Brown posted a very short, but seemingly purposeful message on his Twitter account tonight.
https://twitter.com/AntonioBrown84/status/590654674245672960
A couple weeks ago this tweet would have been practically meaningless. Since it’s the first we’ve heard from AB since rumors started circulating that he was considering holding out to get more money, it’s hard to ignore the obvious.
Brown has 3 years remaining on his contract. He has certainly performed like a top wide receiver, but he isn’t really getting paid like it. Right now his absence from voluntary workouts means nothing. He, like many other NFL players, is off training on his own.
While recent reports have indicated that he’s considering holding out through mini-camp and into training camp, I have little doubt that he’ll be at training camp this summer. The team, if they so choose, can fine Brown $70,000 if he does decide not to attend mini-camp.
Some of the games on this year’s schedule are being leaked ahead of tonight’s announcement. Here are the dates for the games we’ve heard and have confirmed.
Steelers @ Patriots, Thurdsday, 9/10/15
Ravens vs. Steelers, Thursday, 10/01/15
Steelers @ Ravens, Sunday Night, 12/27/15
Stay tuned for the full schedule which will be out shortly.
Will Johnson has signed his restricted free agent tender today. His wife shared a photo of the signing on Twitter.
https://twitter.com/Mrs_Johnson_46/status/590160238520754176/photo/1
The signing puts Johnson on the books for $1.542 Mil for the 2015 season. While it may not have seemed like it, Will J. saw a sizable increase in snaps last season. While mostly utilized as a run blocker, he was targeted 9 times, catching 6 of those.
Of the 3 restricted free agents, Robert Golden is the last remaining one to sign his tender.
According to multiple media outlets, Antonio Brown wants a new deal, and is considering holding out from mini-camp and training camp if he doesn’t get one.
https://twitter.com/MikeGarafolo/status/590164352621092864
Antonio Brown is one of the best, if not the best wide receiver in the NFL. He signed a 6 year, $41.7 Mil contract extension in 2012 when Mike Wallace played the hold out game. Since then, he’s grown into one of the most productive receivers in the league. AB was the league leader last year with 29 receptions and amassed 1,698 yards- both of which were team records.
As productive as Brown is, his APY is pretty low compared to his peers. He averages roughly $8.3 Mil/year- the 14th highest among NFL receivers. The Steelers have restructured Brown’s contract twice already. His remaining cap hits are $9,787,500, $12,037,500, and $10,797,500 respectively.
Production aside, Brown’s camp is probably going to be in for disappointment if he were to hold out this summer. With 3 years left on his contract, the chances of him benefiting from holding out are slim. Personally, I’m skeptical of the validity of these reports.
Brown is not participating in the voluntary workouts that began today.