Once again this year, the NFL off-season has brought a level of accelerated actuality to the legion known as Steeler Nation. Free agency and the hands of father time have taken their toll on the Pittsburgh roster for the second off-season in a row, leaving fans with an uneasy feeling about what is yet to come. Novice fans – those who watch the games on TV and get most of their football newsfeed from the break-room crowd at work – are running around screaming “there’s blood in the water!” Even the die-hard, old guard Steelers fans are feeling a bit of trepidation about the recent events that have begun molding a newfangled – and much younger – roster. In the topsy-turvy, all about parity-world of the National Football League, Steelers fans have been lucky to never really feel this foot all the way up their backside. While most other franchises are all over the map each year, signing overpaid free agents and stocking up on former stars with name value, the Steelers usually do things their way – the “Steeler” Way.
In places like Miami, St. Louis, and Tampa Bay, free agency is a way to sell tickets. These are teams that for one reason or another have an incredibly difficult time selling out their home games, leaving an embarrassing “black-out” scenario for their local television viewers. For the Steelers, free agency is just another part of the off-season. Players come and players go, and the machine keeps on rolling. That is the luxury you have when you maintain the consistency of a stable management structure and employ the best player talent evaluators and developers in the league. Occasionally the team will take a chance on a high-upside young player who needs a change of scenery – ala James Farrior in 2002. That signing will forever be considered one of the best free agent moves in NFL history, eventually paying off with the unquestioned leader of a two-time Super Bowl winning defense. For the most part, the Steelers treat free agency in same manner that you or I treat the dollar aisle at the supermarket. It’s an easy way to compliment your necessities without breaking the bank. The teams who go out and spend millions on multiple high-profile free agents in one offseason NEVER succeed. Most recently the Philadelphia Eagles “dream team” comes to mind, but you can also make a case for numerous Daniel Snyder-influenced Washington Redskins teams. In the NFL, team chemistry is almost as important as the talent level, and a bad mix can sink your team faster than the Titanic.
With that being said, it is easy to see why the panic button has been pushed here in the cradle of Steeler Nation. Last year, Steeler fans had to come to grips with the retirements of longtime team leaders Hines Ward, Aaron Smith, and Chris Hoke. The effect of losing that much leadership was the main factor in a disappointing 8-8 campaign by the 2012 Steelers. Once again, fans are watching as name after name leave their black and gold jerseys on a hook in the South Side training complex and sign the dotted line with another team. What Steeler Nation is experiencing over the past 24 months is simply a case of how the other half lives in the National Football League. For so long, being a Steelers fan meant knowing exactly who would be lining up in all 22 starting slots from season to season. A player would leave – usually due to the team already having a suitable replacement in the fold, or
simply because the Steelers felt the player had reached his peak and was on the other side of that hill. Either way, there have not been many instances where the team was proven to be wrong in their judgment. Perhaps the only true case of misjudgment by the Steelers in this scenario – Rod Woodson – went on to have four more Pro-Bowl level seasons and was a key player on two Super Bowl teams, including one winner (with Baltimore, Super Bowl XXXV). Besides Woodson, it is difficult to say that any player the Steelers have let walk ever truly lived up to their next contract, wherever that may have been. The Steelers know what they are doing, and there is a reason why every team in the league attempts to emulate their formula.
The salary cap has become a big issue for the Steelers in recent years as their roster got older and they gave out big-money extensions to their own players. Those contracts were usually built to be “cap friendly” at the start, with the big payoff coming at the end of the deal. All of those contracts eventually mature, and when they do, it causes a situation like the team is experiencing right now. The salary cap – like the NFL draft, the NFL T.V. deal, and NFL revenue sharing – is in place to ensure parity between all 30 NFL teams. This isn’t Major League Baseball, where certain teams are able to syphon the life force of the smaller market clubs because of their cities massive population and billion-collar television channels. The NFL is set up to make it possible (actually PROBABLE) for the lowest finishing teams to get a leg up on the rest of the league heading into the next season. Rarely do we see an NFL team that fails to make it over the hump to respectability in a timely manner, and when we do it is always because of chronically poor talent evaluation (see Millen, Matt) or apathetic ownership (see Brown, Mike). Once these roadblocks are out of the way, teams quickly find their way to being competitive. This is why the NFL only has four teams who have never played in a Super Bowl. The Houston Texans are only entering their eleventh NFL season and are knocking on the door with back-to-back playoff appearances in 2011 and 2012. The Detroit Lions were a doormat for years because of their meddling CEO Millen, and once he was fired in 2008, the Lions began building a team that would make a playoff run in 2011. The Jacksonville Jaguars were the most successful expansion team in league history, playing in two AFC title games in 1996 and 1999 and maintaining a competitive balance despite lackluster ability to draw fans to their games. Finally, the Cleveland Browns were a very successful championship franchise in the pre-Super Bowl era, and were on the doorstep in the 1980’s. After owner Art Modell moved the franchise to Baltimore, the Browns returned to the league in 1999 and have not experienced much success outside of a 2002 playoff appearance. Besides those four teams, every franchise in the league can claim a berth in the Super Bowl. That is an amazing statistic, and one that shows why the NFL is as popular as it is – every team has their day in the sun.
The Steelers have always prided themselves on building from “within”, utilizing the NFL Draft as their main source of talent influx, developing that talent until they are ready to be starters, then retaining the talent for another long-term contract during the players age 25-27 stretch. With the average NFL career hanging at just 5 to 7 years that means the Steelers will retain their key players through the end of his notable career. The Steelers will make an offer to players they wish to keep during the summer prior to their final contracted season. If that player declines the offer, the Steelers will not go back and forth during the season. Once the pads go on for good in September, the Steelers will not discuss contracts. Therefore, that player will end up becoming an unrestricted free agent after the season.
That was the case with Wide Receiver Mike Wallace. Wallace NEVER had any intention of re-signing with the Steelers. He knew that some team with oodles of cap space and a flailing fan base would throw insane numbers his way. Wallace, of course, signed a 5-year, $60 million deal with the Miami Dolphins – a team that needs to stock up on big-ticket names in order to sell out their massive 80,000+ stadium in a city that only responds to winners. Don’t believe that? Take a look at the history of the Miami/Florida Marlins or the attendance numbers for the Dolphins during their many sub-.500 campaigns. “Taking your talent to South Beach” has become a slogan for players looking to make as much money as possible with little concern for the underlying issues such as chemistry, family, and loyalty to their fans.
Mike Wallace will forever be remembered in Pittsburgh as a lightning-fast wide receiver who could blow the top off of any coverage when he felt like playing full speed. As the league began to formulate a game plan to negate his talent, Wallace got frustrated and that frustration turned into a 2012 season in which he accounted for over 20 dropped passes and saw his receptions fall to 64 while only collecting 836 yards receiving. Wallace still has the speed that teams covet, but in Pittsburgh he had the luxury of having Ben Roethlisberger throwing the deep pass to him. Roethlisberger is as good as anyone in the league at stretching the field with his cannon arm, 
something that Wallace will have to wait and see with new QB Ryan Tannehll. Tannehill looks like he is going to be a pretty good signal caller, but he will never have the arm that Roethlisberger commands. Mike Wallace has the look of a player who may have peaked in his third NFL season (2011 72 catches for 1,193 yards and 8 touchdowns), and he is now guaranteed at least $30 million of that massive five-year deal. The Dolphins are going all-in on free agency, following up the Wallace signing with several more high-profile moves and looking to make a run at the AFC East, where the New England Patriots have been the team to beat since the debut of Tom Brady in 2001. The Steelers made a significant offer to Mike Wallace last summer, which he declined. The team then took that money and signed WR Antonio Brown, leaving Wallace as the odd man out. The team never had any intention of trying to resign Wallace once the 2012 season ended. The Steelers refuse to tie up that much cap room with one player, unless that player is a franchise quarterback – which they obviously have.
Fans who were upset over the Wallace signing with Miami are going to be watching with baited breath this winter as teams employ the Wallace-buster defense that Steelers fans are all too aware of – one on one with the best CB on the field, followed by safety help deep to cut off his ability to slip past the defense down the sideline. The book is out on Wallace, and it wouldn’t surprise me to see the Dolphins fail to live up to lofty expectations. Wallace will end up back on the market within a few years, and unfortunately for him, his days of being a “game breaker” will be long forgotten by then.
While one-third of the “Young Money” WR trio is gone, the Emmanuel Sanders drama is just heating up. The 26-year old Sanders has yet to enjoy a full NFL season, although he did technically play in all 16 games last year. Sanders has had some injuries and a personal situation that took him away from the team for an extended piece of the 2011 campaign. While he lacks the tangible speed of Wallace or the hands of Antonio Brown, Sanders seems to have the promise of becoming a fine #2 WR in the Steelers offense. As a restricted free-agent, Sanders is free to negotiate with all teams, however if a team offers him a deal, the Steelers will have a chance to match that deal. If not, Sanders will sign with the other team and the Steelers will claim that teams third-round pick in the 2014 Draft. The loss of Sanders would be more of a shock than a debilitating loss for the Steelers and it could lead the team to re-evaluate how they handle restricted free agents in the future. After a national report was circulated late in the week that Sanders had signed an offer sheet with New England, General Manager Kevin Colbert dismissed the report on Sunday. We will have to wait and see what happens this week on the Sanders front.
The Steelers did bring back one of their own wide receivers for 2014, signing veteran Plaxico Burress to a deal that will pay him close to the veteran minimum of $400,000 this season. Burress played in four games in 2013 after being signed back to the team he played for at the beginning of his career. At 35-years old, the days of Burress being any more than a complimentary player are over, but he showed flashes of still being a decent red-zone target and will be a tough matchup for teams when he is on the field. Burress has said all of the right things since returning to Pittsburgh, and seems to have been humbled by his experiences on and off the field. His signing – and his reaction to the signing – were bright spots in an otherwise tough week for Steelers fans.
CB Keenan Lewis was an unrestricted free agent, and signed with his hometown New Orleans Saints. Lewis was drafted by the Steelers in the third round of the 2009 draft and last season moved into the starting cornerback role opposite veteran Ike Taylor. Lewis played in all 16 games in 2012, recording 54 tackles and one forced fumble. He did not have an interception, and only accounted for one total INT in his entire four-year run in Pittsburgh. He was developing into a decent cover corner for the Steelers, but the evolution of both Curtis Brown and Cortez Allen made him expendable. The Saints coveted Lewis and paid him that way – handing over a 5-year $26.3 million deal with $10.5 guaranteed. The cap-tight Steelers had no chance at retaining him, and feel that the younger players on their roster are ready to compete for the starting job in 2013. Lewis did improve last season and 
seemed to be getting more comfortable as the year progressed, however the Saints grossly overpaid him for what he brings to the table. The Steelers have been searching for a compliment to Ike Taylor for years, and many felt that Lewis had filled the role. The 24-year old Allen, drafted in 2011 out of The Citadel, has the size and athleticism to take control of the LCB role and fill it for the next few seasons. Fans that are having trouble accepting the Lewis departure need only to do a quick Google search on the career trajectory of NFL defensive backs. Occasionally, a Charles Woodson or Champ Bailey comes along, but ultimately players at corner are both expendable and replaceable. Keenan Lewis is far from being an irreplaceable cog to the Steelers defense. On his way out of town, Lewis made a point to thank the franchise and the fans for their support – perhaps motivated by the recent Mayflower-moving company paths taken by William Gay and Bryant McFadden, who both took big contracts away from the Steelers, only to return a year later.
If Mike Wallace’s departure was a forgone conclusion heading into this offseason, RB Rashard Mendenhall was even more so. Mendenhall may go down as one of the worst first-round picks in the modern era of Steelers football. Despite back-to-back 1,100 yard-plus rushing campaigns in 2009 and 2010, Mendenhall made very few fans during his Pittsburgh tenure. From a propensity to utter ridiculous statements to his inability to hold onto the football during key moments of games, Mendenhall never lived up to his billing as the next great Steelers running back. This is unfortunate, because he looked the part and athletically seemed to be stronger every year. Mendenhall’s key fumble at the outset of the fourth quarter in Super Bowl XLV killed the Steelers chances to take the lead late in the game against Green Bay – and earned him the wrath of Steelers fans everywhere. He returned in 2011 and was on his way to a third 1,000-yard season when he tore his ACL in the regular season finale against Cleveland. That injury virtually ended his Steelers career, as he was only able to play in six games last season. By that point, Mendenhall seemed to no longer care about being a Pittsburgh Steeler – no showing a game in which he was inactive, which resulted in a one-game suspension – and his lethargic play was the proverbial nail in the coffin. Mendenhall signed a free agent deal with Arizona to reunite with former OC and current Cardinals head coach Bruce Arians. His deal is for one year, and could be worth up to $3.5 million should he decide to actually play football competitively once again. The Mendenhall departure, coupled with the release of second-year RB Chris Rainey, has left the Steelers with a very shallow depth chart at running back. The team will probably need to explore drafting a back in the later part of the upcoming draft, or perhaps signing one (former Giants RB Ahmed Bradshaw was said to be gaining interest from the Steelers today).
Back-up free safety Ryan Mundy signed with the New York Giants, a move that hurts only depth for the Steelers. Mundy was a non-factor for the team during his four-season run, and despite his status as a local product, few tears will be shed over his departure. The Steelers will plug in a young player such as Robert Golden or simply draft a late-round safety to fill the slot vacated by Mundy on the roster. The Steelers also cut OL Willie Colon to create cap space, leaving Colon to sign with the New York Jets. Drafted out of noted football-powerhouse Hofstra in the fourth-round of the 2006 draft, Colon was handed a golden ticket after missing the 2010 season with an Achilles tear – a 5-year $29 million deal that secured his place as a starter on the Steelers offensive line. He began the 2011 season as the starting right tackle and immediately tore his triceps in Week 1, forcing him onto IR once again. Last year, Colon was shifted to left guard in an attempt to take advantage of his run-blocking ability, but that never materialized and he once again battled injuries to play in only 12 games. Colon had the potential to be a decent lineman for the Steelers, and I am sure his Super Bowl XLIII ring will be a big hit in the Jets pathetic locker room circus.
OLB James Harrison was released on March 9 in a salary cap move, and “Silverback” is currently searching for a new NFL team. It is not out of the question that Harrison could end up back in Pittsburgh before it’s all said and done. Harrison has been linked to AFC North rivals Baltimore and Cleveland in his free agent tour. His signing with either of those teams would be a dagger to the hearts of Steelers fans, who supported Harrison through thick and thin, even though he is far from an upstanding citizen. The most interesting part of the Harrison saga may occur if he does in fact sign elsewhere. Will the fines levied almost weekly by the NFL for hits by Harrison follow him to another organization? Or will Roger Goodell prove his bias against the Steelers by extending Harrison some slack with his new colors? If Harrison doesn’t end up back in Pittsburgh, it will make for a fun story to watch for this season.
The Steelers have been somewhat active in the free agent pool despite their salary cap issues. They have hosted a bevy of players, treating them to free trips to beautiful Pittsburgh in March. Notable names like RB Beanie Wells, TE Kellen Davis, and OLB Victor Butler all came and went without a contract. One player who came in for a visit ending up staying, however, and his signing fills a major roster issue for the Steelers. Finally, the team has a legitimate, young backup for franchise quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. After years of watching and wondering when Charlie Batch would finally see his arm fall off, and trying to figure out what the team kept seeing in Byron Leftwich, the Steelers have signed QB Bruce Gradkoswki to a three-year deal to be the #2 QB. Gradkowski is a Pittsburgh-native, a graduate of Seton-LaSalle High School and a seven-year veteran in the NFL. Steelers fans will remember him as the quarterback who threw for 308 yards and 3 touchdowns to lead a horrific Oakland Raiders team to a road win at Heinz Field in 2009. The 30-year old has played admirably whenever the opportunity has arisen, suiting up to start games for Tampa Bay, Oakland, Cleveland, and backing up Andy Dalton in Cincinnati the past two years. Gradkowski is a capable backup and should give Steelers fans (and Mike Tomlin) a little piece of mind during those inevitable moments each season that find Big Ben hobbling off the field after a big hit. It would not be a surprise to see Gradkowski follow the Charlie Batch career path and finish out his career as the backup in Pittsburgh. It is a perfect fit for both the team and the player, whose family is all from the area and resides here to this day. Just knowing that he is holding the clipboard on game days gives me a sense of relief already.
Another former Steeler has returned to the fold as well. TE Matt Spaeth has been reported by ESPN’s Jeff Dickerson as coming to terms with the team that drafted him out of the University of Minnesota in 2007. Spaeth will come in to provide insurance at tight end, where star TE Heath Miller may not be ready for the start of the season after suffering injuries to both his ACL and MCL in Week 16 of 2012. Spaeth will team up with second-year player David Paulson to provide depth once Miller returns, and he brings with him the 6-foot 7, 260 lb. frame that made him a favorite player for coach Tomlin from 2007-2010. Spaeth spent the past two years with the Chicago Bears, where he played in 16 games and accounted for three touchdowns. This signing is just being reported today, and terms have not yet been released. This move would seem to indicate any further flirtation with TE Kellen Davis is now over.
Another bold move could be on the horizon for the Steelers. The Denver Broncos were forced to release pass-rushing specialist DE Elvis Dumervil in a salary-cap related move that caused all types of controversy in the Rocky Mountain region. Dumervil is a player who could slide in at OLB in the Steelers 3-4 defense and continue to haunt quarterbacks from the side opposite LaMarr Woodley. This story is just starting to sprout legs, and so far no official statements have been made by either side as it relates to Dumervil and the Steelers. The link was reported today by NFL Network analyst Michelle Beisner, and other teams interested include Denver, Tennessee, Baltimore, and New England. Dumervil comes with baggage, his attitude has been questionable throughout his stellar career, but his addition would give the Steelers an immediate replacement for James Harrison – and one that is just 29-years old. We will continue to monitor this story here at pittsburghsportingnews.com as it develops.
The Steelers are doing the best they can to navigate through this free agent period without sustaining too many major blows to their overall roster. Losing Wallace, Mendenhall, and Lewis were moves that should have surprised nobody. The release of James Harrison and Willie Colon were needed to keep the franchise out of the penalty box on the salary cap. Adding Gradkowski immediately makes this team a deeper one than the past five Steelers teams, which is a good thing. We will see where the rest of these rumors go – Emmanuel Sanders, Elvis Dumervil, Beanie Wells – as the team prepares for their top off-season activity, the 2013 NFL Draft.
Until next time, this is Jeff Snedden. Questions? Comments? Email me at sneddenstake@yahoo.com and perhaps I will use your letter in my next column. Please include your name and city when writing. Thank you for reading – take a deep breath Steeler Nation – everything is A-OK!
