Is Jeff Reed a Steeler after this season?

[fordfixer]

Is Jeff Reed a Steeler after this season?
Steelers Q&A with Ed Bouchette
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
By Ed Bouchette, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09266/1000270-367.stm

Q: Is there any way the Steelers keep Jeff Reed after this year? It has nothing to do with his recent performance but the fact that they seem to have a certain price they will pay for a kicker and not a penny more. If they let Hall-of-Famer Gary Anderson walk over money, why wouldn't they do the same for Reed?

Mitch Molinaro, Fort Mitchell, Ala.

BOUCHETTE: I believe their low-ball offer to him several days before the start of the season showed that they do not intend to make him a much higher offer, and if he does not accept it, he will move on. I think they made him an offer they knew he could not accept, which is another sign that there will be nothing more concrete coming after the season. And I do not think Gary Anderson will make the Pro Football Hall of Fame. There is only one pure kicker in there, Jan Stenerud, and no other has gained much support through the years. Anderson no longer leads the NFL in scoring and missed the biggest kick of his career that would have put the Minnesota Vikings in the Super Bowl.
First published on September 23, 2009 at 10:05 am

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09266/10 ... z0RwatBbGF (http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09266/1000270-367.stm#ixzz0RwatBbGF)

[phillyesq]

I disagree with Bouchette here. Unless he continues to kick like he did last week, my guess is that the FO hits him with the franchise tag in the offseason.

[Oviedo]

I disagree with Bouchette here. Unless he continues to kick like he did last week, my guess is that the FO hits him with the franchise tag in the offseason.

I agree but Reed has to feel a little nervous now that he rejected that contract offer. He probably has a little more to think about than he really wants. I'm sure the offer he was given would have made him a multi-millionaire several time over.

[JTP53609]

what is up with reed this season so far.....he just about hit our lineman in the head on the game tying field goal against tennessee and than this past week he blew.....what bothers me most about this week and his 2 misses is that they were the same end and both were within his range and he missed the first one way left and the second one was....WAY LEFT..like i tell my students and players, i dont mind mistakes, but you better fix the mistakes you make and adjust to them, reed did nothing to adjust to that second kick and that is what angered me most...

[RuthlessBurgher]

Here are the salaries for the top 10 kickers/punters in the league last season...they are grouped together by the NFL for franchise/transition tag purposes (Jeff's salary was already 9th in the league overall).

Sebastian Janikowski $3,010,000
Robbie Gould $2,520,000
Adam Vinatieri $2,350,000
John Kasay $2,300,000
Brian Moorman $2,236,428
Ryan Longwell $2,220,000
Craig Hentrich $2,083,750
Jason Hanson $2,080,000
Jeff Reed $1,958,333
Shane Lechler $1,882,858

If you wanted to give a kicker or punter the franchise tag for this season, you would have had to pay him the average of the top 5 from the list above ($2.48 million). If you wanted to give him the transition tag, it would be the average of the top 10 ($2.26 million). Those franchise/transition numbers may go up next year, but not by much, I wouldn't think. I think it is worth a half-million dollar raise (or so) to franchise Jeff and keep him around for another year (and hopefully try to work out a long term deal with him next offseason like with did with the franchised-tagged Max Starks this past offseason).

[steelblood]

Love the Jeff Reed. Still, he doesn't kick off all that well. If he continues to miss FGs this year, it may be easy to let him go instead of paying him 2.5 mil per season.

[Shoe]

Love the Jeff Reed. Still, he doesn't kick off all that well. If he continues to miss FGs this year, it may be easy to let him go instead of paying him 2.5 mil per season.

I don't love him--but I like him a lot :wink:
And I agree that I am a bit concerned with him, given his "shaky" start. One thing I wonder about is how his lifestyle plays into his preparation. I see pictures of him all the time, wasted, in a bar, etc. And believe me--I'm no prude when it comes to that kind of thing. But you wonder if maybe it (eventually) has an effect on his on-field game.

[frankthetank1]

jeff reed is a very good kicker. he is always money except of course last sunday, but they shouldnt go crazy to try and re-sign him. he doesnt deserve to be the highest paid kicker or anything so if he doesnt accept a resonable offer then let him walk. i know heinz is a tough place to kick but how hard is it to find a kicker?

[LouSteel]

I think the team is crazy not to franchise Skippy.

Heinz isn't a good place for kickers, but he's been solid for us. Tag him, see if he will sign a long-term deal, and begin grooming his replacement.

I do not want to see us just try and plug someone in. I've seen enough "short-term fixes" in Berger and Ernster to know that we must have someone ready to replace Reed.

[Chadman]

How good are the Steelers going if our biggest concern is who our kicker will be in 2011? :tt1


Chadman's thoughts- while Reed has been great for a number of years, that salary number is creeping up. With so few holes in this team, a mid-round draft selection on a kicker next draft might be a viable, and cost-effective, option.

Reed for $1.5 million (or thereabouts, let's say) or a rookie kicker (5th round?) for $400k a season? Will there be THAT much of a difference in the results?

[Lonbull]

Reed for $1.5 million (or thereabouts, let's say) or a rookie kicker (5th round?) for $400k a season? Will there be THAT much of a difference in the results?

Chadman -

I fear replacing Jeff Reed as Kicker - could end up being very similiar to replacing Antwaan Randel El as punt returner.

Considering that if Logan is the answer - we've been without a solid replacement now for almost three seasons. The first year was absolutely painful with out Randel El - as we consistently lost games due to fumbles. Beyond that we were rarely a threat in special teams - perhaps Logan is changing that. That being said Kickers are (obviously) in a place to win more games for you than punt returners are - and as we saw last week - they're in a position to lose more games for you as well.

I have visions of how poorly our kickers did at Heinz field before Reed got there - I'm not disagreeing with you - because the economics make sense - I'm just hopeful that the right guy is available for us in the draft or otherwise.

L.B.

[proudpittsburgher]

Gang, just think back to how you felt when Piotr Czech lined up a kick in the preseason. AND THAT WAS A MEANINGLES PRESEASON GAME!!! Skippy will figure this out. Someone tag this guy, please, and get him signed. The Syeelers figure out how to makeeach and every game a close one, the last thing we need is to have to worry about whether our kicker can make a 45 yard field goal.

[Mister Pittsburgh]

Draft a kicker with a great percentage that plays outdoors up here in the north so they are used to cold weather.

[RuthlessBurgher]

Draft a kicker with a great percentage that plays outdoors up here in the north so they are used to cold weather.

Cold weather is nothing. The problems with Heinz is unsure footing #1, uncertain winds #2, and cold weather #3. I would not want to rely on a rookie kicker in a pressure situation, no matter where he went to college.

[Mister Pittsburgh]

Draft a kicker with a great percentage that plays outdoors up here in the north so they are used to cold weather.

Cold weather is nothing. The problems with Heinz is unsure footing #1, uncertain winds #2, and cold weather #3. I would not want to rely on a rookie kicker in a pressure situation, no matter where he went to college.

Reed was working on a dairy farm when we gave him and 3 other dudes a tryout. Sure it worked out for him. Great. We also had Rob Bironas in camp a year or two. Could of had him. There are lots of kickers out there. There are something like 200 division 1 colleges (not that all have football programs) and plenty of D2 schools. I am sure we can find a kicker that has a great percentage that kicks on a crappy field in the cold.

[RuthlessBurgher]

[quote="Mister Pittsburgh":e7zjy16y]Draft a kicker with a great percentage that plays outdoors up here in the north so they are used to cold weather.

Cold weather is nothing. The problems with Heinz is unsure footing #1, uncertain winds #2, and cold weather #3. I would not want to rely on a rookie kicker in a pressure situation, no matter where he went to college.

Reed was working on a dairy farm when we gave him and 3 other dudes a tryout. Sure it worked out for him. Great. We also had Rob Bironas in camp a year or two. Could of had him. There are lots of kickers out there. There are something like 200 division 1 colleges (not that all have football programs) and plenty of D2 schools. I am sure we can find a kicker that has a great percentage that kicks on a crappy field in the cold.[/quote:e7zjy16y]

We are a team that is current contending for a championship. You don't want to have to rely on an unknown quantity at a position that involves putting actual points on the scoreboard on a regular basis in every single game.

The Ravens avoided that unknown quantity in their kicking game by keeping Matt Stover into his 40's. But when they finally realized that he wouldn't be able to get the job done at his age, they finally replaced him this year with Steven Hauschka. I bet he costs them at least one game this year, and he only has to deal with the conditions at Heinz once a year instead of 8 times. Reed is not in his 40's...at 30 years of age, he is in his prime years as a kicker.

The only example I can think of where a championship calibre team got rid of an established kicker for an unknown quantity in the draft is when Vinatieri went to Indy and New England drafted Gostkowski. That has worked out for them, but they had to spend a 4th rounder to make it happen. I was all for spending a 4th rounder to get Sepulveda, because our punting was a weakness and that draft pick was worth it for the needed improvement. Well, our kicking game is not bad. If we used a 4th round pick to get the best kicker in the draft next year, we would be lucky if he would be simply as good as Reed has been, never mind better.

I would hate having to rely on a rookie kicker when we have a guy in his prime who knows the ins and outs of how to kick in perhaps the most difficult stadium to do so in the entire NFL. I'll stick with what I got. Try to re-sign him after the season. If not, then franchise him while you continue to try to work out a long term agreement. A consistent guy that puts points on the board is well worth it. This past week's game was an aberration. Suddenly, everyone forgets that he won the previous game for us on a FG in overtime and was named AFC special teams player of the week.

[flippy]

Reed doesnt seem like a Mike Tomlin guy to me. I wonder if we'll let him walk because of it?

[RuthlessBurgher]

Reed doesnt seem like a Mike Tomlin guy to me. I wonder if we'll let him walk because of it?

A Mike Tomlin guy is a guy that performs on the field when called upon. The Chicago game was a fluke. Reed is consistent, even at Heinz Field. I don't expect to see Tomlin and Reed hitting the clubs together, or anything like that, but his performance makes him a Tomlin guy. "You can't freeze a psycho!!!"

[aggiebones]

If it goes uncapped next year, isn't he forced to stay with us another season at a slight increase of salary?
I think that is what the Steelers intended with him.
Options were:
A) sign him to like 3 years at a real salary
or

B) Hope we go uncapped next season which the owners seem intent on doing.
Then sign him for slight increase.
This gets 2 seasons at current and slightly increased salary.
As opposed to giving him a 3 year deal that he would sign. He's a kicker, take the guaranteed 2 years at reasonable salary and don't be forced into a 3-4 yr deal.

They are playing their cards right here. If its not capped, THEN next season offer him a reasonable salary and if he doesn't accept, move on.
Basically they really haven't begun to negotiate with him, but nor do they want him to leave. They just want him to play out this cheap contract before giving him a new one.

[RuthlessBurgher]

If it goes uncapped next year, isn't he forced to stay with us another season at a slight increase of salary?
I think that is what the Steelers intended with him.
Options were:
A) sign him to like 3 years at a real salary
or

B) Hope we go uncapped next season which the owners seem intent on doing.
Then sign him for slight increase.
This gets 2 seasons at current and slightly increased salary.
As opposed to giving him a 3 year deal that he would sign. He's a kicker, take the guaranteed 2 years at reasonable salary and don't be forced into a 3-4 yr deal.

They are playing their cards right here. If its not capped, THEN next season offer him a reasonable salary and if he doesn't accept, move on.
Basically they really haven't begun to negotiate with him, but nor do they want him to leave. They just want him to play out this cheap contract before giving him a new one.

The only player whose free agency status would be impacted by the CBA negotiations would be Willie Colon. If there is a CBA in place, then he's an unrestricted free agent (he'd only need 4 accrued seasons). If there is no CBA, then he's be a restricted free agent again (he'd need 6 accrued season to reach unrestricted free agency), and we'd just keep him for one more year with an RFA tender (like the one he is playing under this season). Heath Miller would have been in the same boat as Colon, but since we gave him a long-term extension, that is now moot.

Also, if we go to an uncapped year, we get to use 3 tags if we want to (1 franchise tag and 2 transition tags). I think if we are unable to sign Reed to an extension, then he gets tagged whether there is a cap in place or not.

[pfelix73]

There's 2 sides to every issue and on this one I'm on the side of not signing him to a big deal.

If they made him an offer like Ed said, and he refused it, then he'll probably go elsewhere.

I still say he's just an average kicker in this league.

I agree with Chadman- draft a kicker like they did with Sepulveda. Tennessee has a good one-

** The best punter in the nation this year resides in Greenville, NC- Mr. Dodge can kick it.

:tt2