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Steelers release DeCastro

Discussion in 'Steelers Talk' started by SteelersfaninPhilly, Jun 24, 2021.

  1. Brice

    Brice Well-Known Member

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    What is going on with the news that Decastro is up set about this? Doesn't he have to be in on the whole this is a "non-football" injury story, so the Steelers can release him and free up the cap space without any penalties?

    I for one think there is a chance that Decastro will return to the Steelers if he does get better and is able to resume his NFL career.
     
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  2. Steel_Elvis

    Steel_Elvis Staff Member Mod Team

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    Fair enough, but can you say that the O line overhaul to date has been handled in a way that maximizes our chance to win big in Ben’s final season? Rookie O line coach. Reliance on very unproven talent and journeymen. Moving a guy who stunk at right tackle to the blind side. Passing on drafting day 1 ready O linemen in the early rounds. It’s like on some parts of the team we’re building for a run in 2021, but in others - especially the O line - we’re focused on building for the future at the expense of the present.
     
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  3. mac daddyo

    mac daddyo Well-Known Member

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    two are prior draft picks in waiting. two are draft picks currently made. one was to show last year what he could do only to get injured. we have two o-line coaches, one of which is not brand new to the position. actually both are not brand new. covid cap made this offseason quite different for the team to do things in a normal year's way. they chose to use the first two picks for positions we also needed to upgrade. o-line had the deepest field of good players so they waited. smart move. they still grabbed two quality players even waiting. most teams don't have first and second round talent across the board on the o-line. :cool:
     
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  4. Lizard72

    Lizard72

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    Yeah, I don't get it. They obviously thought DeCastro was going to be playing this year, so they drafted accordingly. Hell, Green is a Pouncey clone damn near! They really didn't have the cap space to go after high priced free agents on the line and it wasn't until min-camp that they realized he wasn't going to be able to go.
     
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  5. NewMexicoLobo

    NewMexicoLobo Well-Known Member

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    First of all I love DeCastro. Always went about his business in a professional way. However it appears that he may have waited until minicamp to communicate the recurring ankle issue to them. What were they to do? Cutting him and signing Turner was their best and maybe only option. They needed a starting RG.

    Finally, the non-FB related injury designation may be completely fair. Recurring bone spurs are on a level with osteo-arthritis to average Joes like us. They may be related to old injuries but they are not caused by violent, immediate trauma.
     
    Last edited: Jun 27, 2021
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  6. Steel_Elvis

    Steel_Elvis Staff Member Mod Team

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    It’s a high risk strategy for success in 2021. The players that they drafted show long-term potential, but also show deficiencies in their game that will likely take time to work through. We have a QB that absolutely needs protection at this point in his career, and we’re putting Chuks and Banner up against Garrett and Clowney twice. Think about that for a second. What has Chuks done in his career? Answer: play backup swing-tackle level ball at best. What has Banner done in his career? Answer: Nothing except show potential in camp/practice, and play OK as a tight end in short yardage sets. I think we’re Ok at the starting guard spots now that we’ve signed Turner. Center is a problem for 2021 unless Klemm can advance Green’s consistency very quickly. Finney and Hassenhauer are not adequate starters. I hope that Banner and Green can have early success so that we’re at least OK in 4 of the 5 starting O line positions, but odds aren’t great. The odds are against it. I expect that our O line will limit the effectiveness of our offense, especially early in the season while guys are still developing. It could be pretty ugly.
     
  7. thorn058

    thorn058 Well-Known Member

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    I saw that article too, about how he took a swipe at ownership with the quote along the lines of there are reasons the owners are billionaires. I thought it was the site making mountains out of mole hills but starting to appear more like that movement earlier in the season to paint the team and some in the media as disrespecting Ben. Like these guys keep telling Decastro he is getting a raw deal and it's growing on him. Sad thing is he should know it's not true based on what they did for Shazier.
     
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  8. Blast Furnace

    Blast Furnace Staff Member Mod Team

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    That’s because it never showed up on the injury list.

    Hopefully that doesn’t bite the Steelers in the ass.
     
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  9. strummerfan

    strummerfan Well-Known Member

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    Decastor saves 8.95million.
    Would only show up if he disclosed it or got treated by the Steelers for the condition. If he doesn’t say anything …
     
  10. mac daddyo

    mac daddyo Well-Known Member

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    tomlin has loved banner since he got here. he also played guard on short yardage at the goal line two years ago that most people didn't notice. he told him he would make him a multi millionaire as a tackle.

    green started in the big ten for a few years, im sure he is capable of playing. moore started for 3 years in the SEC, again i'm sure he's capable of playing. if okrafor can't handle it i think moore will take his spot. chuks can pass block. his problem comes in the run blocking area. remember he had starters in front of him prior to last year. age and injuries happen. if it was a normal year and we had another 20+ million to play with as usual it may have looked quit different but it is what it is. it can't all be about ben not being able to do his job as they build for the future. he's not in the future plans. again age happens. he's still capable at playing at a high level but the cap and the age and injuries have limited what they can do. he just becomes part of the process now, not the focal point. :cool:
     
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  11. Blast Furnace

    Blast Furnace Staff Member Mod Team

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    I just remember a story last year or prior about a player, maybe Ben talking about an injury they didn’t disclose on the injury list and the league was looking at it.
     
  12. The Sodfather

    The Sodfather Well-Known Member

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    I generally agree. I think that Steeler Nation is fairly evenly divided on taking skill (Harris) over a a stud center or tackle. I'm 51% to 49% on the side of the Steelers for taking Harris, 40% to 60% on taking Freiermuth. Their people make the big bucks for making those calls. I'm pretty certain that the DeCastro thing was much more of a surprise to the fans base than the organization.

    Center and left tackle are my two biggest concerns, but there is more hope at center IF Green can put it together. I don't see it with Okorafor, I never have. I think, at best, he's a career back up. Having said that, I think Freiermuth is going to spend more time helping him out this year than he will be going out in pass patterns, otherwise it could be a short season for Ben. Which begs the question, can Rudolph play QB left handed? Can Dobbs?
     
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  13. Blast Furnace

    Blast Furnace Staff Member Mod Team

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    Green will be a stud, book it.

    The last two years I’ve listened to fans list DJ’s and Claypools flaws and how they wouldn’t make an immediate impact. Uh huh.
     
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  14. The Sodfather

    The Sodfather Well-Known Member

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    Yeah, hard to argue with the organizations ability to draft or otherwise obtain quality centers over the last 50 plus seasons. Afte rall, the surname "Green" does have historical provenance within the confines of Steeler lore, for what it's worth. Not necessarily TE Eric Green, but that dude they drafted first of West Texas State did pretty well for himself. And the Steelers.
     
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  15. Roonatic

    Roonatic Well-Known Member

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    Rebuilding with the focal point being Najee with their draft selections this year. Macdaddyo makes sense. :thumbs_up:
     
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  16. Blast Furnace

    Blast Furnace Staff Member Mod Team

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    I’m more comfortable with the line than most. Reading this board and you’d think Chuks was the worst lineman to ever don a Steelers uniform, not true and he also moves back to his natural position.

    Protecting Ben isn’t their primary concern and when you get rid of the ball in 2 seconds, you can understand why, it’s hard to get to the QB no matter who is at tackle when the ball gets out that quick.

    We don’t need these guys to be all pros, we need them to get to about middle of the pack in run blocking. I’m fairly confident they can do that, both Chuks and Banner are road graders, I think they are up to the task.

    Here’s a little about the line pre-draft.

    https://www.behindthesteelcurtain.c...tsburgh-banner-okorafor-jenkins-cosmi-haeg-lt
     
  17. Vox Ferrum

    Vox Ferrum Well-Known Member

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    I agree Thorn. We really know squat about this whole situation. I can see DD being miffed about being cut with no salary considerations, I can also see why the team did what they felt they had to do. You cannot pay a guy that much money when he shows up and says he might need surgery...again.
     
  18. Formerscribe

    Formerscribe Well-Known Member

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    It could, but I do think we were never going to see the best of Okorafor until he got a shot on the left side.

    Clowney hasn't even been a good player since 2018. The Browns are still going to be heavily reliant on Garrett for their pass rush this season.
     
  19. The Sodfather

    The Sodfather Well-Known Member

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    They are betting a lot on the fact that Chucks is going back to the left, where he has a history. I'll, admit. He does scare me. The organization shows a good deal of faith in him, and they see him every day, so I just hope their faith is justified.

    I think improving line play is for more than just run blocking. I get the impression that they'd rather see Ben more comfortable rather than feeling as if he has to go three steps and get the ball out in 2 seconds. Whether he was doing that last season out of design, fear or both is debatable. But, it's clear that they need improved play from the left tackle. I just hope Chuks is up for the challenge, and can stay healthy if he is.

    I agree, they don't need five All-Pros. I'd be happy with consistently dependable.
     
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  20. D0bre Shunka

    D0bre Shunka Well-Known Member

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    when you’re looking at what you get for a player of his caliber you have to look multi dimensionally. Who could we have got and or retained with that 9 million? How bout big Bud, aye? Nelson and many others they have passed on. Nelson will get a lower end competitive deal which we can afford and really, it would be wise to have his experience. Released due to medical now? The Steelers have gone from cutting everyone in pandemic cap h3ll to one day to being one in fthe few teams that have money.

    jeeze Louise, timing is everything! They can afford very high quality splash players now. Who’d we lose and who’d we snooze?
     
  21. steelersrule6

    steelersrule6 Well-Known Member

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    The Steelers weren't going to keep Bud, he got 82 million from the Titans, they have to pay TJ soon.
     
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  22. D0bre Shunka

    D0bre Shunka Well-Known Member

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    Yes, heard that too. And I’ll answer my own rant with it looks like the Steelers did the classy “Steeler” thing by allowing hm to leave in his time instead of cutting our losses earlier, which would have been huge.

    It’s just the timing that gets me.
     
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  23. D0bre Shunka

    D0bre Shunka Well-Known Member

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    There are some reports he may have aggravated it “ off campus” and his release can/ may be open to dispute. Don’t think he will but as previously replied in other post, this thread, timing man, timing.
     
  24. Da Stellars

    Da Stellars Well-Known Member

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    Seems weird they weren't willing to IR return designation. What is that Week 8? I'd take that.

    What is a foot injury, like an ankle, recovery time, maybe 3 months tops? DD could have been ready in time.

    Something else must have gone down behind closed doors.
     
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  25. SteelHack

    SteelHack Well-Known Member

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    My question to you is what would you have done differently?

    Any draft pick falls into "your what have they done" category? Any early draft pick has a pedigree... but those pedigree people fail all the time.

    I see they should have traded up for an OT in the 2nd..... I'm not opposed to it... but if I traded up..it would have been for Landon Dickerson. I think he is a freak of nature and the next gen of lineman.

    HACK
     

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