According to Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the Pittsburgh Steelers did not tender a one-year restricted tender to linebacker Terence Garvin prior to the start of the new league year and as a result, he is now an unrestricted free agent.
$1.671 million is the amount of the lowest restricted tender teams can offer players this year.
Garvin, who played his college football at West Virginia, was originally signed by the Steelers after making a solid impression during the team’s 2013 rookie minicamp as a tryout invitee. He was immediately signed to the roster following that series of practices and has since played in 43 regular season games.
While Garvin hasn’t played many defensive snaps over the course of the last three seasons, he has been a solid contributor and core player on special teams. Last season, however, he missed four regular season games due to a knee injury that required minor surgery.
Garvin has recorded 36 total tackles during his Steelers career.
One would think the Steelers might like to re-sign Garvin to a one-year deal for the league minimum over the course of the next few weeks as he’s unlikely to get any big offers from other teams during free agency. Should that wind up happening, Garvin would then be able to compete for a spot on the 53-man roster during training camp.
