The Pittsburgh Steelers have a long standing history of not talking contracts once the regular season gets underway as they normally like to get contract extensions taken care during training camp. Steelers general manager Kevin Colbert was a guest Friday morning on 970 ESPN Radio and he was asked about extensions possibly being on the horizon.
“We usually get through about two weeks of training camp – kind of get a feel for what\’s taken shape – who we have available to us and if you look back at our history, it\’s usually towards the middle of camp and toward the end when we get those things done,” said Colbert. “So we have a couple of guys we may move forward with. Were not actively negotiating with anybody at this point, but that can change. But usually that\’s after a week or two while we\’re up here.”
The two biggest names of course that could be in line for extensions prior to the start of the regular season are defensive end Ziggy Hood and wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders as both are currently not under contract for 2014. In addition to those two players, linebacker Jason Worilds, defensive end Brett Keisel, running back Isaac Redman, running back Jonathan Dwyer and safety Ryan Clark will all have their contracts expire following the 2013 season, should no extensions be worked out prior to the start of the season.
Colbert was asked about Sanders and Worilds playing well in 2013 in order to get paid in 2014 and the Steelers general manager said he hopes that\’s not the case.
“I hate to say they\’re playing to get paid,” said Colbert. “I would hope they\’re playing to win. I don\’t want playing to get paid to be their first and foremost, because if they are, they\’re not going to help us win, they\’ll be selfish and they might be a reason you lose.
“You want them motivated, of course, but you want them to be motivated to win and the rest will take care of itself. We have some guys that will be entering their contract years and sometimes guys step it up, but hopefully it\’s for the right reasons. And again, we\’ll see, because it\’s out there, it\’s unknown.”
Hood, Sanders and Redman would probably be the players the Steelers have their eyes on to get extended over the course of the next few weeks, but of course asking price and terms will play a big part in whether or not they ultimately get done or not. Hood and Redman should be the easiest of the three while Sanders\’ agent, Jordan Woy, has already let it be known that his client is more than willing to play out his final year should the Steelers not give Sanders a “good” deal.
It\’s hard to see Worilds getting an extension now that Jarvis Jones is in the fold, so I am not expecting any movement with him.
At the very least, there should be one or two extensions that get done between now and the season opener. We will wait and see.
