Tag Archives: Cortez Allen

Steelers Release Cortez Allen

I can’t imagine there are many that are surprised by this, but Cortez Allen is no longer a Pittsburgh Steeler. The Steelers released the 27 year old corner back this afternoon.

https://twitter.com/EdBouchette/status/721068664552886273

The team reportedly had asked Allen to renegotiate his contract last month (play for less). According to Mark Kaboly of the Tribune, the team is not using the post June 1st designation for Allen, so he will come off the books now, saving the team $1.7 Mil in 2016 salary cap space. Doing so also comes with a hit of $4.05 Mil in dead money.

http://gty.im/457904336

Drafted in the 4th round of the 2011 draft, Allen signed a 4 year extension worth $24.6 Mil in 2014. Since the extension, he appeared in 12 games, made 47 tackles and intercepted the football twice.

Some reporters are speculating that the Steelers had questions about Allen’s health, and must have gotten their answers since Phase I of offseason workouts begins on Monday. Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post says that Allen simply refused to take a pay cut.

[Audio] Kevin Colbert Combine Press Conference

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Steelers GM Kevin Colbert took the podium yesterday and answered a variety of questions from reporters. You can listen to Colbert talking about the draft strategy and scouting process in the audio below.

Colbert also talked about Cortez Allen’s future yesterday. Allen’s season was very disappointing, but Colbert expressed faith in him. “It’s up to Cortez,” Colbert said. “We’re certainly going to be there to help him find his game because, if he finds his game, he’s going to make our defense that much better. Obviously, we felt that when we invested in him.” He added that Allen had some confidence issues, but he has a fresh start.

When asked about LeGarrette Blount, Colbert said the Steelers had no regrets whatsoever about letting him go.

On free agent linebacker Jason Worilds, Colbert said that the Steelers want him back, but they are going let him test the free agent market, which shouldn’t come as a surprise. He also reaffirmed that the team could potentially tag Worilds again (something that probably has a 0% chance of happening).

“He understands that if he doesn’t get tagged, which we could still do, he will explore the market and see what is out there,” Colbert said. “We will stay in communication. Maybe he comes back. Maybe he moves on. But he’s been a good player for us and we would love to have him back if it all fits.”

Here is an excerpt from the presser.

Steelers Activate Jarvis Jones, Place Cortez Allen On IR

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The Steelers announce that they have activated outside linebacker Jarvis Jones today. In a corresponding roster move, CB Cortez Allen has been placed on season ending injured reserve. Jones was placed on the Injured Reserve list with the return designation after suffering a wrist injury during week 3. He has 2 sacks so far this season.

Jones’ activation doesn’t really come as a surprise. He has been indicating all week that the move would come, and with James Harrison’s knee injury, it seemed that much more likely.

Cortez Allen getting placed on injured reserve does come as a surprise. He was working his way back from a thumb injury that required surgery, and was listed as probable for Sunday’s game. Allen signed a 5 year, $26 Mil extension in September, and has had a pretty disappointing season.

Breaking Down Cortez Allen’s Contract Extension

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The Steelers signed CB Cortez Allen to a contract extension last Saturday. The new deal was for five years, and totaled $26.031 Mil. He was set to make $1.431 Mil this year, so after factoring that in, you can see that the deal includes $24.6 Mil in new money over the extended 4 years.

Here is the breakdown of his contract by year. $6.75 Mil is guaranteed.

[table]

Year, Base Salary, Prorated Bonus, Roster Bonus, Cap Hit, Dead Money

2014, “$650,000″,”$1,447,875″,”$0″,”$2,097,875”, “$6,847,875”

2015, “$2,631,000″,”$1,350,000″,”$3,000,000″,”$6,981,000”, “$5,400,000”

2016, “$4,400,000″,”$1,350,000″,”$0″,”$5,750,000”, “$4,050,000”

2017, “$4,300,000″,”$1,350,000″,”$0″,”$5,650,000”, “$2,700,000”

2018, “$4,300,000″,”$1,350,000″,”$0″,”$5,650,000”, “$1,350,000”

[/table]

As you can see, Allen’s contract includes a $3 Mil roster bonus in 2015, which will be due on the 5th day of the league year if he is on the roster. Currently, Allen is the 17th highest paid corner back in the league behind Alterraun Verner.

Steelers Sign Cortez Allen To Contract Extension

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On the eve of the home opener, the Steelers have signed Cortez Allen to a contract extension. The 25 year old cornerback is now under contract through 2018. According to Jason LaCanfora, the deal is worth $26 Mil.

https://twitter.com/JasonLaCanfora/status/508407797806297088

It’s no secret that the Steelers don’t negotiate new contracts during the season, and while they’ve maintained that, they certainly pushed it to the wire tonight. I’ll have a breakdown of his new deal and the cap implications posted soon. His cap number this year (the last year of his rookie deal) was just over $1.5 Mil before the extension.

Video Of Sammy Watkins Beating Lew Toler Goes Viral For Some Reason

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The Steelers hosted the Bills for the second and final day of joint practices at Latrobe today. There were roughly 8,000 or so fans in attendance for the conclusion of Steelers training camp, and while the fighting was kept to a minimum, there was plenty of action for the swarm of onlookers.

Receivers were putting on a show tonight with cornerbacks getting burned on a regular basis. You’d think I was referring to Steelers DB’s getting owned based on the title of this article, but actually it was the Steelers receivers who were regularly taking the Bills cornerbacks to school.

https://twitter.com/ScottBrown_ESPN/status/500050239836147712

https://twitter.com/BCTBradford/status/500045774500413440

https://twitter.com/ScottBrown_ESPN/status/500045774907260928

Here’s a great video showing just how good some of the Steelers receivers were in one on one drills with the Bills DB’s.

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

Regardless of how impressive the Steelers receivers were, what apparently gets clicks is Sammy Watkins beating a slow, short, undrafted rookie cornerback in a one on one drill. To add insult to injury for Toler, his name is getting misspelled at all of the major sites that I’ve seen this posted at. Here’s the clip shot by Mark Kaboly of the Tribune.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZiF7mSHsmcM

It’s probably going to sound like I’m dumping on Toler, but that’s not my intention. No doubt he’s grinding everyday, working as hard as he can in hopes of getting on a practice squad this year. Having said that…he ran a 4.61 at his pro day. Watkins, the 4th overall pick of the 2014 NFL draft runs something like a 4.31 give or take. Obviously there’s a lot more to this incredible mismatch than 40 times. Toler didn’t play a down in the Steelers first preseason game. He’s at the bottom of the depth chart. Behind Isaiah Green. Behind Devin Smith. There’s no way he’ll make the 53 man roster and it’s safe to say that he’s unlikely to make the Steelers practice squad. As I said in jest earlier regarding the next Watkins video to go viral~

https://twitter.com/TheSteelersFans/status/500093488877551617

Cortez Allen went up against Watkins in the same drill and fared a little better.

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

Sammy Watkins is an impressive receiver for sure, and I’m sure he’ll give many a starting CB fits this season, but going gaga over him beating someone tremendously out of his league is pretty silly. We’ll get to see how Steelers cornerbacks deal with Watkins during game action on Saturday night when the Steelers host the Bills at Heinz Field.

Cortez Allen Hopes To Be Like Ike

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Steelers CB Cortez Allen hopes to be like Ike Taylor. At least, he hopes to be able to play at the level that Ike Taylor does. Allen, who is entering his 4th season with the Steelers, battled injury early in the season, but saw far more snaps than in previous seasons. Out of the 718 snaps he saw action on, he was thrown at a total of 81 times. Approximately 55% of those pass attempts were caught, and 5 of those resulted in a touchdown.

While he saw less playing time than Ike Taylor, his coverage allowed fewer yards, far fewer YAC (yards after catch), fewer touchdowns, and a significantly lower catch percentage. Arguably, the most important stat is the difference in interceptions. Allen had two, while Taylor had none. In the past you could argue that Ike was assigned to the X receiver, but that wasn’t always the case in 2013.

In an interview with Steelers.com writer Mike Prisuta, Allen shared his hopes to assume the responsibility of being the #1 corner. “Of course,” said Allen. “I’ve always liked to challenge myself. I’ve always wanted that challenge just to see how I match up. And it’s always fun to go against talent like that. Ike’s done it before me. Hopefully, one day I’ll be in that position to be the level of player that he is. It’s a day-by-day process. I’m just trying to learn as much as I can from him and the guys around me.”

The Citadel alum continued, “Wherever I am in the defense, wherever they see fit, what’s best for the team, then that’s where I’ll be. I’ve never been a guy who said, ‘I want to play on this side or that side.’ We’re both capable of playing either side. And we’re both capable of playing anybody we face. It’s always us. It’s never them.”

I think the future is full of promise for Allen, and he expressed a similar sentiment. Now that the season’s over, he said it’s time to start working on improving. “[He’ll start to] Evaluate myself and begin the process of attacking what I need to improve. Talk to Coach Tomlin and Coach Lake and see what I can improve in the off-season and go from there…there’s so much room for me to grow.”

Cortez Allen Earned The Proven Performance Escalator In His Contract

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Cortez Allen has earned the Proven Performance Escalator in his contract. The PPE is an escalator that’s built into all contracts of players signed after the second round of the draft. To earn the escalator, the player has to have played for 35% of their team’s cumulative snaps in his first three seasons, or must have played for 35% of the team’s snaps for 2 out of 3 seasons.

Since Allen did play for over 35% of the team’s cumulative snaps for the past two seasons, he earns the escalator. Basically, his 2014 salary jumps from $645,000 to $1,389,000. That number is the lowest restricted free agent tender determined by the CBA. After adding his guaranteed signing bonus, his 2014 salary cap number is $1,486,875.

34 other players who were selected in rounds 3 though 7 of the 2011 NFL draft earned their Proven Performance Escalators as well.

Wednesday Steelers Practice Participation Report

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Some good news on the injury front today.

Full Participation: Le’Veon Bell, Cortez Allen, and Steve McLendon.

Did Not Participate: Brett Keisel (hamstring)

Barring an unexpected setback, it’s looking very good for Bell and Allen to return to the field on Sunday. Keisel injured his hamstring during the Bears game, and McLendon has been battling a nagging hamstring injury, as well.

Steelers Vs Bears Injury Report

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The injury report for the Bears game is out, and based on reports, it’s looking more and more like Heath will play on Sunday. He may even start.

Out: Cortez Allen.

Questionable: Le’Veon Bell. Bell practiced again today, and isn’t ruling out playing on Sunday. How his foot responds to today’s practice will be a big deciding factor.

Probable: Curtis Brown, Jarvis Jones, Brett Keisel, Steve McLendon, & Heath Miller.

For the Bears:

Probable: Brandon Marshall, Kyle Long, and Martellus Bennet.

Questionable: Charles Tillman.