2016 Offseason thread

[Rara]

Well, it's that time of the year unfortunately...but here's the offseason thread. Post any thoughts, tweets, updates/news regarding the Steelers (or entire NFL).


(PREDICTED SALARY FOR NEXT YEAR)
Year Total Liabilities Salary Cap (Projected)
2016 $143,727,485 $153,000,327


THE DRAFT
Team needs (in order): Cornerback, safety, defensive tackle, guard, quarterback

Draft picks (As of 1/1 Six picks: 1(25), 2(5, 3(89), 4(120), 7(197), 7(214)

Players I'd like for the Steelers to target/draft in the first round...other rounds later after the combine (as of 1/1:

Darian Thompson, FS; Boise State
Jalen Mills, FS; LSU
Eli Apple, CB; Ohio State
Kendall Fuller, CB; Virginia
Andrew Billings, DT; Baylor
Jarran Reed, DT; Alabama
Kenny Clark, DT; UCLA
Jack Conklin, OT; Michigan State
Shon Coleman, OT; Auburn
Austin Hooper, TE; Stanford


FREE AGENCY
Team free agents:

Steve McClendon, DT
Cam Thomas, DE
Ramon Foster, OG
Bruce Gradkowski, QB
William Gay, CB
Kelvin Beachum, OT
Robert Golden, FS
Antwon Blake, CB
Brandon Boykin, CB
Will Johnson, FB
Mike Adams, LT
Sean Spence, ILB
Will Allen, SS
Clifton Geathers, DE
Greg Warren, LS
Darrius Heyward-Bey, WR
David Nelson, WR
Doug Legursky, C
Terence Garvin, ILB
Jordan Todman, RB
Michael Vick, QB
Chris Hubbard, OG
Ross Cockrell, CB
Roosevelt Nix, FB
Byron Stingily, RT
Anthony Chickillo, DE
Rob Blanchflower, TE
Mitchell Van Dyk, LT

Players I hope that get re-signed: Steve McClendon, Ramon Foster, William Gay, Kelvin Beachum, Robert Golden, Brandon Boykin, Will Johnson, Will Allen, Sean Spence, Darrius Heyward-Bey, Terence Garvin, Ross Cockrell

Players I hope that get signed to the practice squad: Anthony Chickillo, Roosevelt Nix, Byron Stingily, Alejandro Villanueva


Free agent wishlist (if we don't re-sign our own): Ladarius Green, TE; Cordy Glenn, OT; Russell Okung, OT; Kelechi Osemele, OG (Probably won't get to FA), Muhammad Wilkerson, DT; Jared Crick DT; Tamba Hali, OLB; Bruce Irvin, OLB, Courtney Upshaw, OLB; Leon Hall, CB; Morris Claiborne, CB; Kyle Wilson, CB; Eric Weddle, S; Rodney McLeod, S; Walter Thurmond III, S; David Bruton, S



OTHER
Questions that keep bothering me:

-Why isn't Haley gone yet? I know that the front office love him and all..but he bothers me more than anything..
-Is this the year that Mike Adams is finally gone? Had too many chances to prove himself...if you can't get off the PUP, then you don't belong on the team, period.
-Have the Steelers finally realized that they have to get a quarter back to groom before Roethlisberger hangs up the cleats in say...4-5 years? Landry Jones is not the answer.
-Did Boswell do enough to earn his spot on the Steelers and for them to release Shaun Suisham?

[raycafan]

Sorry, absolutely no way Aljeandro is put on the practice squad. I would not bet a penny on that one.

[RobinCole]

Is he even eligible?

[Slapstick]

He isn't. A player can't be on the active roster for more than 9 games...

[steelsnis]

IMO, the Steelers immediate future is incredibly bright. This season really showed me that there are backups all over the field who can play (and play well) when called upon. They will certainly try to upgrade positions and bolster depth through the draft and to a lesser extent, FA, but I really feel like they are in a good spot for the next few seasons.

It seems that they finally are young in the right spots and experienced in the right spots. Ben is still Ben, but look at all of the young players who stepped up this season. Heyward is in his young prime, Tuitt looks like a future Pro-Bowler, Shazier looks like a future All-Pro, LeVeon (health non-withstanding) is a stud, AB is AB, Bryant is MASSIVELY talented, Coates looks like he can be something, Jarvis played really well in the playoffs, Mitchell was a totally different player this year...the list goes on. Now lets add Senquez back into the mix (was cleared for FULL activity on Jan. 1) and it's like a bonus early draft pick for next season (kinda like DeCastro was in his second year). Add another TE, CB, S in the draft and let's roll!

Damn I can't wait for July in Latrobe!

[Iron City Inc.]

You don't release Shawn Suisham at least not now. Have Boswell and SS at camp and if all goes well (no injuries like this year) you trade SS for a late rounder. Boswell salary is more cap friendly and frankly he is just rock solid and he gets his kick offs consistently into the end zone.

[steeler_fan_in_t.o.]

Cap concerns and considerations:

*Timmons enters his contract year with a cap hit of over $15M. Do you: A) Let him play 2016 with that cap number? B) Try to extend him, lowering his cap hit significantly in 2016 and reducing the hit for a now 29 year old over the next three or so years? C) Take a $6.3M dead money hit, along with $8.75M savings and part ways - either by trade or outright release?

*Don't know what the process is for extending a fifth year option guy, but Decastro is on the books at over $8M straight salary next season.

*Is it time to extend Brown? Average salary on his current deal puts him 17th in the league among receivers. He is on the cap at over $12M next season. Last season, both Thomas and Bryant signed 5 year, $70M deals. Brown can sign a 5 year, $75M contract and easily reduce his cap hit for '16 significantly.

*Suisham is almost assuredly gone. If he is sent packing prior to June 1 then his cap hit is almost a wash. If after then the savings is $2.4M, most of which becomes dead money next year.

*Is this it for Cortez? Cutting him prior to June 1 is a $1.7M savings.

* I think that Spaeth will become a $1M savings.

[Slapstick]

I definitely think that you need to address Timmons and DeCastro...

I think AB waits...

I don't think that Allen or Spaeth necessarily gets cut for such relatively small savings....

[fezziwig]

It's going to be a tough year to try and spend and keep everyone. I was never thrilled with paying Pounce his money. Yes he is good, yes I love the Steelers history of great centers but, giant money centers isn't the catalyst to what is always needed. Not every team or any requires their center to be the key or the big dollar player. That money should have been spent elsewhere. Granted I don't want a scrub at that position like we had in the past. Given Pounces hurt most of the time for whatever reason s and doesn't play very much should be the answer. We don't need to spend that kind of coin on a center. Wallace is good enough imho. Too late now, we have him signec.

[Slapstick]

In Pouncey's first three seasons, he played in 45 out of a possible 48 games...

In his fourth season, David DeCastro took out his knee...

In his fifth season, Pouncey played in 16 out of 16 games...

He has been unlucky with freak injuries....but he actually plays quite a bit when his teammates aren't diving at or falling on his legs...

[fezziwig]

In Pouncey's first three seasons, he played in 45 out of a possible 48 games...

In his fourth season, David DeCastro took out his knee...

In his fifth season, Pouncey played in 16 out of 16 games...

He has been unlucky with freak injuries....but he actually plays quite a bit when his teammates aren't diving at or falling on his legs...

Lol friendly fire. The fan this morning have been bouncing around the Pounce vs Bell talk today.

[Oviedo]

Assessing by positon:

QB--Set, but need Ben's replacement. Not in 2016 though.
RB--Very good. Just need to keep them healthy but we have one great (Bell), one very good (Williams) and two solid #3 RBs. I think our four RBs are as good a group as in the NFL.
OL--Good but need depth and lots of decisions. Villanueva proved he can be a good LT. Question is can he be very good or great with time? How much to pay Foster? What to do about Adams...is he a bust or the next Gilbert of Max Starks who blooms late?
WR--Set. Best group in the NFL and its not even close. Coates just cemented that with what he showed against the Broncos.
TE--Spaeth needs to go. James is a keeper. IMO Heath is fading fast. He drops more balls every year and he gets dropped almost immediately after catching the ball. Need more here.

On defense:

DL--One sure star (heyward) and one rapidly becoming a star (Tuitt). Interior DL is good not great. Not sure what we have with McCullers. Need depth at DE.
OLB--IMO position is a mess. Moats is nothing more than career back up. Dupree showed flashes but needs to develop. Jones also flashed but not nearly enough for a third year player and he gets to the QB far less than a ROLB should. Harrison is a stud but he is a part time player at best going forward.
ILB--position of strength. Four solid players. Timmons is still among best on the defense. Shazier is going to be a star. Spence and Williams are solid back ups.
CB--absolute mess. They need to resign Gay. Should resign Boykin but he'll get better offer like McCain last year. Hopefully the two rookies this year are ready to play next year. IMO need a free agent acquisition here.
S--I know many other don't agree, but I think we are OK here. Definitely need infusion of youth and speed but Will Allen, who gets little love, was solid all year long. He has another year or two in him playing at a good level. Mitchell had major up year after last year. Golden is good back up.

Overall I think the team has a solid foundation going forward. Lots of free agent questions to answer regarding who to keep and who goes, but secondary and pass rush remain biggest needs going into the off season. Need depth on the OL and probably a TE. Wildcard is we REALLY need a kick returner. I don't care if he is a WR or RB but need someone. We can't risk AB and we saw what a disaster Wheaton was back there. Get someone via free agency or the draft but do something.

Agree or disagree?

[steelsnis]

Disagree about OLB. Saying it's a "mess" is absolute hyperbole. A mess would be having Harrison and Moats as your only OLB's (one ancient and one a career back up) but that's not the case. Dupree is good and young and Jones showed me that he can be a good solid OLB in this defense.

This defense isn't built the same as the old LeBeau defenses. Pressure doesn't solely fall on the the OLB's anymore. In this last game on the play that Jarvis broke up a pass to Denver's TE, I noticed that both he AND Harrison had dropped into coverage. This team manufactures pressure differently now and with the amount of QB's who get rid of the ball in 2 seconds, I'm afraid the days of a 15-sack OLB are a thing of the past. Now, DGMW, I'd love for Dupree or Jones to go on a tear and rack up double digit sacks but I don't think it's a necessity. Pressure from the DL is what works in the NFL now, and it's one of the only ways to disrupt the quick passing game of elite QB's. Think about how many time Ben avoids pressure from the outside. Now think about when pressure comes up the middle. That's when he gets messed up.

Anyway, I think the OLB play can and should improve, but I don't think it's in any way "a mess".

[pfelix73]

Villanueva is their LT going forward. They like his size, athleticism, etc. This has been the talk on the radio too, and I think those on the radio dial are correct.

[Iron City Inc.]

Assessing by positon:

QB--Set, but need Ben's replacement. Not in 2016 though.
RB--Very good. Just need to keep them healthy but we have one great (Bell), one very good (Williams) and two solid #3 RBs. I think our four RBs are as good a group as in the NFL.
OL--Good but need depth and lots of decisions. Villanueva proved he can be a good LT. Question is can he be very good or great with time? How much to pay Foster? What to do about Adams...is he a bust or the next Gilbert of Max Starks who blooms late?
WR--Set. Best group in the NFL and its not even close. Coates just cemented that with what he showed against the Broncos.
TE--Spaeth needs to go. James is a keeper. IMO Heath is fading fast. He drops more balls every year and he gets dropped almost immediately after catching the ball. Need more here.

On defense:

DL--One sure star (heyward) and one rapidly becoming a star (Tuitt). Interior DL is good not great. Not sure what we have with McCullers. Need depth at DE.
OLB--IMO position is a mess. Moats is nothing more than career back up. Dupree showed flashes but needs to develop. Jones also flashed but not nearly enough for a third year player and he gets to the QB far less than a ROLB should. Harrison is a stud but he is a part time player at best going forward.
ILB--position of strength. Four solid players. Timmons is still among best on the defense. Shazier is going to be a star. Spence and Williams are solid back ups.
CB--absolute mess. They need to resign Gay. Should resign Boykin but he'll get better offer like McCain last year. Hopefully the two rookies this year are ready to play next year. IMO need a free agent acquisition here.
S--I know many other don't agree, but I think we are OK here. Definitely need infusion of youth and speed but Will Allen, who gets little love, was solid all year long. He has another year or two in him playing at a good level. Mitchell had major up year after last year. Golden is good back up.

Overall I think the team has a solid foundation going forward. Lots of free agent questions to answer regarding who to keep and who goes, but secondary and pass rush remain biggest needs going into the off season. Need depth on the OL and probably a TE. Wildcard is we REALLY need a kick returner. I don't care if he is a WR or RB but need someone. We can't risk AB and we saw what a disaster Wheaton was back there. Get someone via free agency or the draft but do something.

Agree or disagree?

I'm not sure how we sign Beachum? I agree AV could be very good and much more cap friendly(under 1 million) then Beach who will want and deserve starting left tackle money. An off season key decision. We are only apx 6 mil under the cap from what I understand.