Foote in Contract Talks per Bouchette

[phillyesq]

That is my assumption and I believe the Steelers assume the same. He stood out in camp & preseason and I believe the Steelers know what they have.

Spence was healthy throughout his college career. Spence's injury was serious but I would be more concerned if he was a DB, RB, or WR. Lattimore had a more serious injury and he is on the road to full recovery and is expected to be drafted.

I think the decisions moving forward (Like signing Foote) will be based upon timetable on Spence's return. If Foote is signed, I feel ILB becomes less of a need early. Come draft day when the Steelers pick, if there is a significant drop off of grade in the early rounds for a player and he is an ILB I'm sure he will get consideration. For example, if Te'O or Ogletree fall out of the 1st and are stiing there in round 2....You were happy with there interviews....How can you not consider? I would pass on Te'O but I would find a way to get Ogletree on the field.

Even if Spence is fully healthy, bringing back Foote to provide insurance while he adjusts, and in case of any setback, seems prudent. From what I saw of Spence in the preseason, he looked good in coverage but had some problems with the run. He would seem to be a nice compliment to Foote, and breaking him in on the nickel D (as many had hoped last year) would give the Steelers more of an opportunity to evaluation what they have in Spence.

[lloydroid]

Just to be real, don't read anything into any media about "so and so is in contract talks with team." It is often meaningless propaganda. They may or may not be in any real talks, or they could be going through the motions to make the fans feel they are on top of trying to make the team better, but often, "reports" of contract talks are just exaggerated. They will also do this with some free agents who they have no real intentions of signing. They don't want the fan base to feel like they are sitting on their hands so they play this little PR game. No biggie.