Former Green Bay Packers tight end Jermichael Finley is still looking for a team play for in 2014 as he attempts to comeback from a spinal contusion injury that suffered last October and apparently the Pittsburgh Steelers have offered him a contract.
“Pittsburgh have showed me a couple deals, but we all know the money ain’t what it’s supposed to be,” Finley said, according to Tom Pelissero of USA Today Sports. “If I quit the game right now, I can take tax-free money, and that’s a difficult thing that I’m going through with myself …”
The tax-free money that Finley is referring to is a $10 million insurance policy that he will collect one year to the day after the injury if he hasn’t played.
According to Pelissero, Finley will undergo another round of medical tests Wednesday and then send the results to all 32 teams in hopes of landing on a roster before training camp. The tight end had his C-3 and C-4 vertebrae fused a month after suffering the injury by Steelers team neurosurgeon Dr. Joseph Maroon, who reportedly cleared him to resume playing back in the early part of June during a visit to Pittsburgh.
The Steelers interest in Finley is a little bit surprising, but judging by the tight end’s comments, he likely was only offered a one or two-year deal for close to the minimum. Unless he’s willing to take a deal like that, I don’t think that he will wind up in Pittsburgh.
Pelissero also reports that Finley has visited the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks. He reportedly failed the Seahawks physical, however.
“As long as I wait, you know and I know, guys are going to go down and the money’s going to shoot up,” Finley said. “It’s all a waiting game right now.”
