While the Pittsburgh Steelers seemingly had interest in signing unrestricted free agent tackle Russell Okung this past weekend, it’s now fairly apparent that they were never likely to get a deal done with him even though they reportedly went as far as to make him an offer when he came in for a visit.
According to Josina Anderson of ESPN, Okung is now close to finalizing a five-year deal with the Denver Broncos worth $10.6 million per year.
UPDATE: Okung’s new deal with the Broncos is actually structured as a one-year, $5 million deal with a team option for the final four years at $12 million per year.
Okung, who had shoulder surgery just after the 2015 season ended, is reportedly still a few months away from being able to practice fully. The former first-round draft pick of the Seattle Seahawks also chose to represent himself during free agency.
It’s hard to know for sure what kind of money the Steelers reportedly offered Okung during his recent visit to Pittsburgh. With that said, it’s hard to imagine that any offer made to him by the Steelers would come close to the $10.6 million per season that it looks like he’ll be getting from the Broncos. Needless to say, it will be interesting to see the structure of Okung’s new deal with the Broncos along with the amount of guaranteed money given to him when and if the deal is consummated.
The Steelers quickly moved on from Okung following his visit to Pittsburgh as they signed former Broncos tackle Ryan Harris to two-year, $3.9 million contract a few days ago. A few days after they signed Harris, unrestricted free agent tackle Kelvin Beachum signed a two-year contract with the Jacksonville Jaguars. While Harris is expected to compete with Steelers former undrafted free agent Alejandro Villanueva for the starting left tackle job this year during training camp, he will in all likelihood wind up being the team’s primary backup on both sides of the offensive line.
