With the 2014 free agency signing period now less than two weeks away, we have been gearing up for it by taking a look back at the Pittsburgh Steelers free agent signings dating back to 2000, when Kevin Colbert became the general manager.
So far we have recapped the first eleven years of Colbert’s tenure in Pittsburgh as it relates to the signing of free agents from other teams and today we will look at what happened in free agency prior to the 2011 season. Please keep in mind that these free agent signing recaps will be limited to only free agents from other teams that were signed prior to June 1st of that offseason as those are the ones that count when determining whether or not a team a team receives compensatory draft picks. The ones that are usually signed after that date are pretty much cheap, one or two year deals for the most part.
The 2011 offseason was interrupted by the NFL lockout and thus the free agency signing period didn’t begin until very late in the month of July. Because of that, the Steelers focused mainly only signing their own unrestricted free agents, but did add one notable street free agent. Below is a quick recap of that signing and I will also remind you that the salary cap in 2011 was $120.4 million.
Jerricho Cotchery – August 11, 2011 – Technically, Cotchery shouldn’t count as he was a street free agent after he was released early that August by the New York Jets, but being as he was the only significant signing that offseason, we’ll let the rules slide. 10 days after he was released, the Steelers signed him to a one-year, $860,000 qualifying contract. Before signing Cotchery, however, the Steelers courted wide receiver Plaxico Burress, but the two-sides couldn’t come to terms and Burress wound up signing with the Jets just prior to Cotchery being released. After he signed, Cotchery proceeded to injure his hamstring during a preseason game and that resulted in him missing the first three games of the 2011 season. He wound up only playing 286 snaps on offense during the 2011 regular season and caught a total of 16 passes for 237 yards and two touchdowns. He also chipped in one 31-yard touchdown in the playoff loss to the Denver Broncos. The Steelers re-signed Cotchery the following offseason to a two-year deal. After another insignificant season in 2012, he did catch 46 passes in 2013 for 602 yards and 10 touchdowns. Cotchery will once again be an unrestricted free agent in less than two weeks and one would think the Steelers would like to have him back for at least another season.
Previous Articles In This Series
Recapping The Steelers Free Agency Signings During The Kevin Colbert Era – 2000 Season
Recapping The Steelers Free Agency Signings During The Kevin Colbert Era – 2001 Season
Recapping The Steelers Free Agency Signings During The Kevin Colbert Era – 2002 Season
Recapping The Steelers Free Agency Signings During The Kevin Colbert Era – 2003 Season
Recapping The Steelers Free Agency Signings During The Kevin Colbert Era – 2004 Season
Recapping The Steelers Free Agency Signings During The Kevin Colbert Era – 2005 Season
Recapping The Steelers Free Agency Signings During The Kevin Colbert Era – 2006 Season
Recapping The Steelers Free Agency Signings During The Kevin Colbert Era – 2007 Season
Recapping The Steelers Free Agency Signings During The Kevin Colbert Era – 2008 Season
Recapping The Steelers Free Agency Signings During The Kevin Colbert Era – 2009 Season
Recapping The Steelers Free Agency Signings During The Kevin Colbert Era – 2010 Season
