Though the Pittsburgh Steelers are notoriously quiet in free agency, anticipate them to be quiet for the final two weeks leading up to it.
The team will allow most of its free agents to hit free agency, according to a report by ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler. Notable free agents include: Brandon Boykin, Ramon Foster, Robert Golden, and Steve McLendon.
Fowler did qualify that statement that there is interest in re-signing some of those players during free agency, pointing out McLendon and one of Foster and Kelvin Beachum specifically. And he seemed to imply William Gay will eventually be brought back.
It is a little disappointing to hear and there’s always the worry the market will drive up prices as other teams compete, even if the initial wave of high-prized players won’t be many coming out of Pittsburgh. But from a fan standpoint, from a comfort point of view, it sounds likely the team’s offseason plan won’t be known for a couple more weeks.
Other players scheduled to hit free agency include: Antwon Blake, Sean Spence, Terence Garvin, Will Allen, Bruce Gradkowski, and Cam Thomas. Fowler writes Allen is likely to be let go, and you can safely assume Thomas isn’t coming back, but there are cases to be made for bringing all the others back on cheap deals.
Free agency begins on March 9th at 4 PM. If Fowler’s report holds true, expect things to be quiet until then before exploding into a fury of news.
