Pats sign Sanders

[Big Ern McCracken]

I agree 100%. Sanders is poised for a breakout year... highly doubtful we'll get his kind of production out of a 3rd round pick, at least in the near term. If we are truley building for the future as some are implying, we should be keeping guys like sanders and lewis, and dumping guys like Ike Taylor and Troy.

[supersteeler]

Is there any good news for our Steelers?

[Mister Pittsburgh]

Teams can plan for long term situations and short term situations. The Steelers have done well because they have short term and long term plans. Sanders can be in the plans for the Steelers and Pats in the short term or long term. Short term for one team this season. Sanders long term future will depend on how well he performs this season.

Teams never know what will get out of a 3rd round pick. Most 3rd round picks never become starters. The Steelers and Pats don't have 3 to 4 years to wait for a 3rd round pick to develop because of the situation at QB.

Sanders value depends on Haley's (The Rooney's) plan for this offense. Bruce Arians is no longer here. We airing it out like his days with Arizona, or run heavy like KC? Probably somewhere in the middle. The way I see it is we are screwed either way.

[Eddie Spaghetti]

I really hope the steelers take the pick.

sanders is a decent player, but he will never be an exceptional one. You can easily replace his production via FA and the draft. This team is not built for next year, so it makes even more sense to let him walk and thank the pats*** for hastening the roster makeover. I like sanders, but he hasn't shown enough to even warrant an extension and certainly not one with much guaranteed money.

this one is a no brainer, IMO.

[RuthlessBurgher]

When the original rumors of a 1 year, $4 million deal with the Devil...err...I mean Patriots, was floating about, I thought it was a no brainer...let him go, gain a 3rd round pick and recoup the $1.3 million we were giving him as an RFA tender. Considering our cap woes, an extra $2.7 million to keep a guy for one more year wasn't worth it, considering that we were getting solid compensation in return.

However, now that we know it's a 1 year, $2.5 million deal, now it's more borderline. We are currently $2 million under the cap, so we wouldn't need to cut or restructure anyone in order to give Manny an extra $1.2 million to keep him around. Although that would only leave us with $800K worth of breathing space, we still have an extra $5 million to look forward to come June when Colon's money comes off the books (allowing us to be able to sign our draft class).

So, really it comes down to whether or not the front office feels that Sanders is a part of their future or not. If plans are to sign him long-term, then keep him (if you think about it...if Antonio Brown is worth $8 million per year, then Sanders is actually still somewhat of a bargain at $2.5 million). If the team thinks that he's more me-first than team-first, then you cut bait and get a quality day two pick in return. Truthfully, I won't be upset either way. I can understand the reasoning on both sides. We were going to have to decide whether or not Sanders was in our long-term plans or not next offseason anyway...New England's involvement just means that we get to make that same decision a year earlier, with the extra added bonus of a 3rd round pick if we decide to go in another direction.

If we do decide to let him go, here's another possibly option...good ol' Nate Washington. Tennessee signed him to a big money deal 4 years ago, but now they have Kenny Britt and Kendall Wright as their starters, so Nate is making too much to be a #3 guy. He's been shopped around, but there have been no takers at his salary, so he'll likely be cut loose after the draft if Tennessee picks a suitable #3 guy in the middle rounds. He's 29 years old and still has speed (averaged 16.2 yards per catch last year). He's not a volume receiver (in 3 out of his 4 years in Tennessee he had 40-something catches...with one 74 catch, 1023 yard season in 2011), but he does still have a knack for the big play (scoring 6, 6, 7, and 4 TD's in each of those season for the Titans).

My current mock (crafted before the Sanders RFA signing) is as follows:

1.17 Jarvis Jones, OLB, Georgia, 6'2" 245
2.48 DeAndre Hopkins, WR, Clemson, 6'1" 214
3.79 Philip Thomas, FS, Fresno State, 6'1" 208
4.115 Marcus Lattimore, RB, South Carolina, 5’11” 221
5.150 A.J. Klein, ILB, Iowa State, 6’1” 250
6.186 J.C. Tretter, OG, Cornell, 6'4" 307
6.206 (comp) Earl Wolff, SS, North Carolina State, 5'11" 209
7.223 Micah Hyde, CB, Iowa, 6’0” 197

If we let Manny go, then I would make the following minor change:

1.17 Jarvis Jones, OLB, Georgia, 6'2" 245
2.48 DeAndre Hopkins, WR, Clemson, 6'1" 214
3.79 Philip Thomas, FS, Fresno State, 6'1" 208
3.91 Barrett Jones, G/C, Alabama 6'5" 306
4.115 Marcus Lattimore, RB, South Carolina, 5’11” 221
5.150 A.J. Klein, ILB, Iowa State, 6’1” 250
6.186 Aaron Mellette, WR, Elon 6'3" 217
6.206 (comp) Earl Wolff, SS, North Carolina State, 5'11" 209
7.223 Micah Hyde, CB, Iowa, 6’0” 197

[flippy]

I think this could be a good deal for both sides. Manny's not the type of WR that Ben needs. But pair up Manny with Tom Brady and I bet he looks like Marvin Harrison.

Can we just go get Ben a big WR like he asked for many years ago. It's like the Steelers don't want to do anything to make Ben happy. Does he need protection, nah. Does he need a big target, nah. Should we let him have an OC he likes, nah. Should we try to win more SuperBowls since we have a franchise QB, nah.

[Oviedo]

I think this could be a good deal for both sides. Manny's not the type of WR that Ben needs. But pair up Manny with Tom Brady and I bet he looks like Marvin Harrison.

Can we just go get Ben a big WR like he asked for many years ago. It's like the Steelers don't want to do anything to make Ben happy. Does he need protection, nah. Does he need a big target, nah. Should we let him have an OC he likes, nah. Should we try to win more SuperBowls since we have a franchise QB, nah.

Big receiver = Eifert or Erntz

[Sugar]

Is there any good news for our Steelers?

It doesn't seem so lately. My only comfort is that the greater the obstacles are, the greater the victory will be. Everybody is down on the Steelers right now. In the past, that has been when they have been the most dangerous. We'll get to see if that kind of fortitude still exists with this group.

[Big Ern McCracken]

Hate to say it, but it's all going to come down to injuries again this year. There is still enough talent on that team (if healthy) to make a run deep into the playoffs.

[Eich]

Hate to say it, but it's all going to come down to injuries again this year. There is still enough talent on that team (if healthy) to make a run deep into the playoffs.

I would really like to think that way, because it gives something to hope for on the season. And if Ben stays healthy for 16 games, who knows what he can pull off.

At the same time, I'm struggling with being optimistic for this season. We've lost so much that it seems like an impossible task. If Tomlin and the Steelers find a way to pull off any kind of playoff run (that doesn't involve a first round loss to Tebow), Tomlin will have earned a truckload of respect.

We've lost:
-Wallace
-Likely Sanders
-Heath probably won't be 100% for a while
-Max
-Colon (addition by subtraction here?)
-Mendenhall (another additoin by subtraction?)
-Harrison
-Lewis
-Hampton

We're going to look a LOT different come September.

[Oviedo]

Is there any good news for our Steelers?

We'll likely have a Top 12 draft pick next year

Seriously, everyone just needs to embrace the idea this is a transition year to get a lot of things moving in the right direction like our cap problems and the age of the team. IMO 2013 isn't going to be a great year but it will set us up for the future which is what we need.

[calmkiller]

We'll likely have a Top 12 draft pick next year

Seriously, everyone just needs to embrace the idea this is a transition year to get a lot of things moving in the right direction like our cap problems and the age of the team. IMO 2013 isn't going to be a great year but it will set us up for the future which is what we need.

Going down this line of thinking, How many more years does Ben play? 6 or less? When do we really start thinking about the next great Steeler QB?

[supersteeler]

We'll likely have a Top 12 draft pick next year

Seriously, everyone just needs to embrace the idea this is a transition year to get a lot of things moving in the right direction like our cap problems and the age of the team. IMO 2013 isn't going to be a great year but it will set us up for the future which is what we need.

This may be more than a one year transition as it takes time for draft picks to develope, and in the meantime the eventual departure of Clark,Troy,Keisel,Taylor to name a few. We may not be able to replace all these players fast enough while Ben is aging.
If we wind up getting a top 12 pick in the draft next year, I would think it would be the right time to get our future QB.

[JUST-PLAIN-NASTY]

When the original rumors of a 1 year, $4 million deal with the Devil...err...I mean Patriots, was floating about, I thought it was a no brainer...let him go, gain a 3rd round pick and recoup the $1.3 million we were giving him as an RFA tender. Considering our cap woes, an extra $2.7 million to keep a guy for one more year wasn't worth it, considering that we were getting solid compensation in return.

However, now that we know it's a 1 year, $2.5 million deal, now it's more borderline. We are currently $2 million under the cap, so we wouldn't need to cut or restructure anyone in order to give Manny an extra $1.2 million to keep him around. Although that would only leave us with $800K worth of breathing space, we still have an extra $5 million to look forward to come June when Colon's money comes off the books (allowing us to be able to sign our draft class).

So, really it comes down to whether or not the front office feels that Sanders is a part of their future or not. If plans are to sign him long-term, then keep him (if you think about it...if Antonio Brown is worth $8 million per year, then Sanders is actually still somewhat of a bargain at $2.5 million). If the team thinks that he's more me-first than team-first, then you cut bait and get a quality day two pick in return. Truthfully, I won't be upset either way. I can understand the reasoning on both sides. We were going to have to decide whether or not Sanders was in our long-term plans or not next offseason anyway...New England's involvement just means that we get to make that same decision a year earlier, with the extra added bonus of a 3rd round pick if we decide to go in another direction.

If we do decide to let him go, here's another possibly option...good ol' Nate Washington. Tennessee signed him to a big money deal 4 years ago, but now they have Kenny Britt and Kendall Wright as their starters, so Nate is making too much to be a #3 guy. He's been shopped around, but there have been no takers at his salary, so he'll likely be cut loose after the draft if Tennessee picks a suitable #3 guy in the middle rounds. He's 29 years old and still has speed (averaged 16.2 yards per catch last year). He's not a volume receiver (in 3 out of his 4 years in Tennessee he had 40-something catches...with one 74 catch, 1023 yard season in 2011), but he does still have a knack for the big play (scoring 6, 6, 7, and 4 TD's in each of those season for the Titans).

My current mock (crafted before the Sanders RFA signing) is as follows:

1.17 Jarvis Jones, OLB, Georgia, 6'2" 245
2.48 DeAndre Hopkins, WR, Clemson, 6'1" 214
3.79 Philip Thomas, FS, Fresno State, 6'1" 208
4.115 Marcus Lattimore, RB, South Carolina, 5’11” 221
5.150 A.J. Klein, ILB, Iowa State, 6’1” 250
6.186 J.C. Tretter, OG, Cornell, 6'4" 307
6.206 (comp) Earl Wolff, SS, North Carolina State, 5'11" 209
7.223 Micah Hyde, CB, Iowa, 6’0” 197

If we let Manny go, then I would make the following minor change:

1.17 Jarvis Jones, OLB, Georgia, 6'2" 245
2.48 DeAndre Hopkins, WR, Clemson, 6'1" 214
3.79 Philip Thomas, FS, Fresno State, 6'1" 208
3.91 Barrett Jones, G/C, Alabama 6'5" 306
4.115 Marcus Lattimore, RB, South Carolina, 5’11” 221
5.150 A.J. Klein, ILB, Iowa State, 6’1” 250
6.186 Aaron Mellette, WR, Elon 6'3" 217
6.206 (comp) Earl Wolff, SS, North Carolina State, 5'11" 209
7.223 Micah Hyde, CB, Iowa, 6’0” 197

You are 100% right...It is about if the Steelers plans are long term with Sanders. They need to ask themsleves, if Sanders has a70/1,100 6TDs year, Will they try and retain him? If the answer is yes..You consider matching. But here is my twist to the whole situation. Year 1 has to match the offer sheet. If they want him in the long term plans...You bring him in NOW and set him & his agent down. Before you match you talk about an extension this year. You know the Pats have done this based upon the 1 year offer sheet. You see where they are right now before the 2013 season for a long term extension. See where they draw the line now and you will have a better idea of the "If we can afford him" part. Maybe the Pats devalued him and if the staff has great confidence in him...The Steelers can do the long term and get him at a bargain. Might be worth the risk. The other side of the process would be you can see if the Pats inflated his value even before his 2013 season. In this case, even though you want Sanders long term...You may now know you won't be able to come to terms & you don't match. Take the pick.

[JUST-PLAIN-NASTY]

I agree 100%. Sanders is poised for a breakout year... highly doubtful we'll get his kind of production out of a 3rd round pick, at least in the near term. If we are truley building for the future as some are implying, we should be keeping guys like sanders and lewis, and dumping guys like Ike Taylor and Troy.

Offensive skill players can get on the field faster once they get the playbook down. That 3rd round pick isn't the replacement necessarily. They could use a 1st or 2nd too. Just consider this. Holmes was a 1st and came in and played in 16 games starting 4 with 49/824 his rookie year. Wallace was a 3rd and came in and played in 16 games starting 4 with 39/756 his rookie year. Sanders a 3rd pitched in 28/376 his rookie year. You can get production from a rookie WR...If you don't miss. You are correct, if Sanders stays healthy this should be his most produtive year to date. The hinge to all of this is where he fits in next year regardless of what he does in 2013. If he isn't in their plans...They need to take the pick and just move on a year earlier. The odds are good that a vet FA and/or Rookie will give you equal production in 2013 and you get compensation for your lost investment.