With the start of the 2016 free agent signing period set to begin Wednesday evening, the Pittsburgh Steelers are attempting to re-sign as many of their unrestricted players as they can. Now that safety Robert Golden, wide receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey and cornerback William Gay have already re-signed, it appears as though Ramon Foster will also get a new deal finished in the next several hours. While we’ve yet to hear anything about a new contract for nose tackle Steve McLendon, there appears to be some hope that tackle Kelvin Beachum will also be re-signed before the start of free agency.
According to Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the Steelers seem to think they might be able to get Beachum signed to a one-year deal as well. This would be quite an accomplishment and especially being as Beachum figures to have plenty of suitors should hit the market even though he’s still rehabbing a left knee injury that cost him most of the 2015 season.
Earlier this week, Beachum said in a radio interview on SiriusXM NFL Radio that contract negotiations with the Steelers have been “ongoing”, so that is certainly an encouraging sign. A one-year deal would obviously come with a larger cap charge, so the team might also have a contract restructure or two already done. If not, perhaps they have found a way to lower the cap charge of linebacker Lawrence Timmons via an extension or pay cut.
Personally, I had already assumed Beachum would make it to free agency, so we’ll have to wait and see if the Steelers can indeed get him signed by Wednesday at 4 p.m. EST. It will also be interesting to see if they can get McLendon re-signed as well.
