Let's go on to 2018

[JIMBO]

The season is over - lots of good with a crushing conclusion. We can guess all we want about whose fault it was etc. We should concentrate on making this team better by way of FA and the draft.
I like the idea of Eric Reed and the young kid from the Chargers who was mentioned in one of the earlier posts. If we can't get Reed then Sutton goes to saftey and Mike Hilton to slot CB.
In my opinion we get rid of the " bad seeds " no matter who they are. We keep Dupree for one more year only because of the $ ramifications. I'm leaning toward the " let Bell walk " school of thought Not only would he want 16 large, but a lengthy contract. Shades of Lamar Woodley and we all know where that went! I make him a Shady $ ( 8 to 10 ) offer and let him test the waters with that 2 first rounders designation and see where that ends up. I'll take the draft choices and run even if they don't work out.
Somebody here posted his stats and although I think he is a great back, we can't jeopardize our whole cap picture for his inflated view of himself in addition to his off field question marks.
We also need to be cognizant of our looming need for the QB of the future and being prudent with cap space for the that time THOUGHTS???

[Oviedo]

The season is over - lots of good with a crushing conclusion. We can guess all we want about whose fault it was etc. We should concentrate on making this team better by way of FA and the draft. I like the idea of Eric Reed and the young kid from the Chargers who was mentioned in one of the earlier posts. If we can't get Reed then Sutton goes to saftey and Mike Hilton to slot CB. In my opinion we get rid of the " bad seeds " no matter who they are. We keep Dupree for one more year only because of the $ ramifications. I'm leaning toward the " let Bell walk " school of thought Not only would he want 16 large, but a lengthy contract. Shades of Lamar Woodley and we all know where that went! I make him a Shady $ ( 8 to 10 ) offer and let him test the waters with that 2 first rounders designation and see where that ends up. I'll take the draft choices and run even if they don't work out. Somebody here posted his stats and although I think he is a great back, we can't jeopardize our whole cap picture for his inflated view of himself in addition to his off field question marks. We also need to be cognizant of our looming need for the QB of the future and being prudent with cap space for the that time THOUGHTS???

Once again we are cap challenged so free agent help is a pipe dream


We have to get better through the draft and current players just doing better

[Steel Maniac]

Once again we are cap challenged so free agent help is a pipe dream


We have to get better through the draft and current players just doing better

And that's why we will have the same ending next year that we had this year. We can't depend on rookies to fix all the defensive areas we adequately need to address.

[tiproast]

I'm leaning toward the " let Bell walk " school of thought Not only would he want 16 large, but a lengthy contract. Shades of Lamar Woodley and we all know where that went! I make him a Shady $ ( 8 to 10 ) offer and let him test the waters with that 2 first rounders designation and see where that ends up. I'll take the draft choices and run even if they don't work out.

Which of the other 31 teams is going to pony up two first round draft choices for Bell?

How many of those 31 other GM would look at the Steelers and say to himself: I can't put a WR corps on the field equal to Pittsburgh's. I don't have a QB that's as good or better than Ben. My offensive line probably isn't going to be as good as theirs. I don't have a Pro Bowl full-back. There's a good chance Bell won't put up the same numbers here that he did in Pittsburgh.

And I won't have first round draft choices for the next two years if I spend them on Bell. And it's not clear he'll be a good fit in my locker room. He's going to need a big contract - without that he may sit out training camp and the pre-season. Will getting him really make my team better over the next two years?

[pittpete]

There will always be a team that will overpay for a player of Bells caliber.
It just won't be the Steelers.
We need that $$$$$ else where.

[Buzz]

What better way for Haley to start off his career with the Browns than to take Bell with him? Tiproast has made a rational case why a team would be nuts to sign LB if the Steelers slap on the exlusive rights tag, but c'mon, it's the Browns ... that's a move that they are tailor-made to make (ex., their pickup of Osweiler last year)! And wouldn't those two #1s from them be sweet?

[pittpete]

Yup, exactly what i said the other day...FN Browns are nuts and they have Haley now.
Just imagine what we could get with that #1 this year? OMG
Trading it with a team like the Jets who are desperate for a QB.

[SteelBucks]

No evidence or facts but I predict the Steelers will sign a starting free agent ILB that won’t break the bank. They were cap challenged this season and still tried to sign Hightower in the offseason. They’ll figure out a way.

Go ahead.... let the bullets fly.

[steeler_george]

No evidence or facts but I predict the Steelers will sign a starting free agent ILB that won’t break the bank. They were cap challenged this season and still tried to sign Hightower in the offseason. They’ll figure out a way.

Go ahead.... let the bullets fly.

I agree, they will find $$$ if they find a player they like. There are several moves , the obvious are:

Cut:
Mitchel 8mil
Wilcox 3mil
Sensabaugh 1 mil


Please note these numbers are not exact, but to point out that there is money out there.

[Northern_Blitz]

Once again we are cap challenged so free agent help is a pipe dream


We have to get better through the draft and current players just doing better

I think that the OP advocates letting Bell walk (~$15M savings). I guess that since he's talking about who to play at safety, he's also getting rid of Mitchel (~$5M savings I think).

If we can fill the RB position by getting someone fairly cheap to pair with Conner (say sign Geo Bernard or draft someone mid to high), then maybe we have enough money to bring in an impact player at ILB or safety. Hopefully, we'd be able to draft someone good at the other position, but the Steelers will likely bring in someone cheap and serviceable at one or both of these positions so they don't have to reach in the 1st.

I do agree with you that the draft is important (and so is developing the high picks we have, especially on D). I think that we really need to hit with this year's 1st (and hopefully 2nd too).

[Steel Maniac]

I agree, they will find $$$ if they find a player they like. There are several moves , the obvious are:

Cut:
Mitchel 8mil
Wilcox 3mil
Sensabaugh 1 mil


Please note these numbers are not exact, but to point out that there is money out there.

Oh yeah; there’s money out there after those cuts. But it’s how they prioritize the usage of that money. That money could be used to keep Bell for example.

We just don’t know. Tomlin/ Colbert have given no indication of their attitude toward Bell at this time.

But.. if the plan is to depend on rookies, a rookie runningback can come in and be as impactful as a veteran. That’s one of the few positions that can.

[feltdizz]

Oh yeah; there’s money out there after those cuts. But it’s how they prioritize the usage of that money. That money could be used to keep Bell for example.

We just don’t know. Tomlin/ Colbert have given no indication of their attitude toward Bell at this time.

But.. if the plan is to depend on rookies, a rookie runningback can come in and be as impactful as a veteran. That’s one of the few positions that can.

yeah, we usually have no problem paying players we like who produce.

and a rookie RB can come in and be a bust too unfortunately.

[Oviedo]

Yup, exactly what i said the other day...FN Browns are nuts and they have Haley now.
Just imagine what we could get with that #1 this year? OMG
Trading it with a team like the Jets who are desperate for a QB.

I'm worried the Browns may be getting their act together. If they can sign Kirk Cousins, or someone close, to play QB and get some talent with th numerous draft picks they have they could become a challenge sooner than many think. Look how quickly the Jags turned it around

Don't expect the Browns to be an easy out in the future if they make a few decent moves

[Steel Maniac]

and a rookie RB can come in and be a bust too unfortunately.

Not if Colbert does his homework like he did with finding Bell and getting him in the round he got him.

[williar]

Defense, defense, and more DEFENSE! That should be the entire focus. Steelers are at their best when the defense is leading the way! I don't care how many weapons you add to the offense they never play to their potential. Again, as it has been said time and time again, defense wins championships - with the exception being the Patriots; As we know they are a league supported and funded entity.

As we learned, Ryan Shazier is going to be hard to replace, but we must find some speedy, playmaking LB's by any means necessary. We can start with Zach Brown who should have been signed last year when he was dangling out there forever. Then we need to work on finding some ball-hawks! You need at least one. He may not be the best cover man but dog-gone-it - he will steal a pass at the drop of a hat... and someone who isn't afraid to hit/tackle somebody. If we can upgrade our LBs