The Pittsburgh Steelers offseason continues on and with the Super Bowl now behind us we too will continue on now with our breakdown of the free agents as we inch closer towards the start of free agency. Next up on the list of unrestricted free agents is veteran long snapper Greg Warren.
Player: Greg Warren
Position: Long Snapper
Experience: 8 Years
Free Agent Status: Unrestricted
2012 Salary Cap Hit: $925,000
2012 Season Breakdown: Warren played his eighth season for Steelers in 2012 and it was the final year of his two-year contract that he signed prior to the 2011 season. The Steelers once again brought in competition for Warren during training camp this past season in the form of Matt Katula, but he was released just prior to the start of the regular season.
2012 was not perfect for Warren as he and safety Ryan Mundy had assignment issues in the Week 6 game against the Tennessee Titans that led to a blocked punt up the middle and deep in the Steelers own end. The Titans scored just two plays later. Warren also had a bad snap on a missed 24 yard field goal attempt by kicker Shaun Suisham in the Week 16 game against the Cincinnati Bengals that proved to be very costly being as the Steelers lost that game by 3 points.
Warren was credited with two special teams tackles in 2012 and had one missed tackle.
Free Agency Outlook: It is hard to guess whether or not Warren will return in 2013. The Steelers now have a new special teams coach in the form of Danny Smith, who had spent the last nine seasons with the Washington Redskins as their special teams coach. Warren doesn\’t have the best knees, but managed to make through a second straight season without having issues with them. Signing Warren to a one-year deal for $840,000 is an option, but not guaranteed to happen. The Steelers could decide to go younger and less expensive, but with that comes less experience. Even if Warren is re-signed, he will have competition once again in training camp. The Steelers will also likely add another long snapper to their offseason roster before even making a final decision on whether or not to bring back Warren. This is really a coin flip at this point and I am not leaning one way or another as to the ultimate outcome, so let\’s leave it at 50/50 chance that Warren will return for a ninth season.
Other 2012 Steelers Free Agent Player Analysis
Charlie Batch – Unrestricted Free Agent
Casey Hampton – Unrestricted Free Agent
Plaxico Burress – Unrestricted Free Agent
Larry Foote – Unrestricted Free Agent
Byron Leftwich – Unrestricted Free Agent
Will Allen – Unrestricted Free Agent
Max Starks – Unrestricted Free Agent
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