There’s a lot of speculation that Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Larry Foote will be a cap causality during the offseason, but during a Tuesday morning interview on 93.7 The Fan, the 33 year-old Michigan product said he thinks he will be back in 2014.
“I talked to my agent, they said they want me back, but they got to make sure everything lines up right,” said Foote.
Foote still has two years left on the three-year deal that he signed at the start of free agency last offseason and he’s scheduled to earn a $1.5 million base salary in 2014. He played all of 59 snaps last season because he tore his biceps in the season opener against the Tennessee Titans and like it or not, the Steelers defense never really fully adjusted to life without their defensive captain for the remainder of the season.
Foote being sidelined, however, did result in rookie sixth-round draft pick Vince Williams seeing extensive playing time, as the Florida State product played a total of 405 snaps. Williams never really looked fully comfortable with the defense until very late in the season, however, and had to come of the field quite a bit in sub package situations because of his inability to cover.
Depending on whether or not Sean Spence can fully recover from the horrible knee injury that he suffered during the preseason of his rookie year, the Steelers might be forced to draft yet another inside linebacker in May. Even if Spence can play in 2014, it will essentially be his rookie season, so having Foote around for one more year might be the only real choice that the Steelers have.
If Foote is to be released, you would think that the Steelers would make that move in early March in order to give the 12-year veteran a chance to latch on somewhere else if he decides that he wants to continue playing. If he’s on the roster come the first day of the new league year, there’s a good chance that his job will be safe for one more season.
