The Pittsburgh Steelers managed to sign four outside unrestricted free agents since the start of the league year on March 9 and it doesn’t appear as though any more additions are on the immediate horizon.
On Sunday, Steelers general manager Kevin Colbert addressed the media ahead of the league’s annual meeting and according to Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, hinted that the team is unlikely to have any more significant free agent signings ahead of the 2017 NFL Draft.
“Everything is moving away from free agency into our final draft preparations,” Colbert reportedly said.
While the Steelers did sign wide receiver Justin Hunter, running back Knile Davis, cornerback Coty Sensabaugh and defensive lineman Tyson Alualu since the start of free agent, Colbert indicated Sunday that none of those additions will impact what the team does during the draft.
“It’s wide open at this point,” Colbert said on the topic.
As for the addition of Davis, specifically, while Colbert indicated that it doesn’t necessarily mean running back DeAngelo Williams won’t ultimately be re-signed, it sure doesn’t look good for that happening. In fact, Colbert said that Davis’ age, size, and kick return ability were all appealing to the team ahead of them signing him, according to Dulac.
Williams is currently an unrestricted free agent after spending his last two seasons with the Steelers.
The Steelers tried to sign linebacker Dont’a Hightower during free agency but he ultimately chose to re-sign with the New England Patriots a few days after his free agent visit to Pittsburgh.
“We made an attempt, it didn’t work, we’re fine,” Colbert said of the team’s attempt to sign Hightower. “We move on. We’re very confident in Vince (Williams).”
Colbert, by the way, won’t be attending the annual league meetings in Arizona this year due to upcoming pro days that he wants to attend.
