In just 11 more days, the 2014 free agency signing period will began and 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.
We have recapped the first twelve 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 2012 season. Please keep in mind that these free agent signing recaps are 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 2012 offseason was another uneventful one for the Steelers as they only signed one unrestricted free agent from another team during the main part of free agency. That signing didn’t even take place until April. Below is a quick recap of that signing and I will also remind you that the salary cap in 2012 was $120.6 million.
Leonard Pope – 4/10/2012 – The Steelers dipped only once into the unrestricted free agent pool in 2012 and they emerged from the water with Kansas City Chiefs tight end Leonard Pope, who signed a one-year qualifying contract worth $725,000. Pope had played for then-new offensive coordinator Todd Haley when the two were in Kansas City and Arizona. While Pope did start the season as the second tight end for the Steelers, he wasn’t effective at all as a blocker and he caught all of one pass for seven yards in 51 snaps played through the first three games of the season. Pope played so poorly that then-rookie David Paulson overtook him on the depth chart following the Week 4 bye. From Week 5 on, Pope played all of 31 snaps on offense as he was relegated to playing mostly on special teams. 12 of those 31 snaps came in the season finale against the Cleveland Browns as he was needed due to starting tight end Heath Miller tearing up his knee the previous week against the Cincinnati Bengals. Pope finished the season with three catches for nine yards and two touchdowns and that was the end of his Steelers career.
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
Recapping The Steelers Free Agency Signings During The Kevin Colbert Era – 2011 Season
