With the 2017 NFL league year set to get underway on Thursday, it’s time to do our annual look back at all of the true unrestricted free agents the Pittsburgh Steelers have signed dating back to 2000, the first year that general manager Kevin Colbert was with the organization.
Over the course of the last 17 offseasons, the Steelers have signed quite a few outside free agents. However, when it comes to “true unrestricted free agents”, meaning players who were property of another team prior to the new league starting, and who were signed prior to June 1, the Steelers have only signed 41 that meet that criteria dating back to 2000.
Before any of you tell me that I forgot about running back DeAngelo Williams, please remember that he was actually a street free agent in 2015 following his release from the Carolina Panthers.
As you can see in the table below, I have included the total amount of regular season games that each player saw action in during their time with the Steelers in addition to the number of regular season games each player started. I also have the original free agent contract terms listed for each player.
While the Steelers did sign five true unrestricted free agents a year ago, those players combined to play in 48 of a possible 80 total regular season games and two of the four were placed on the team’s Reserve/Injured list during the first half of the season. Additionally, tight end Ladarius Green spent the first half of the regular season on the team’s Reserve/PUP list.
In short, and as I warn every year at this time of the offseason, I wouldn’t expect the Steelers to sign very many true unrestricted free agents in the coming weeks. If they do sign a few, look for only one of them to sign a decent-size contract.
| DATE | POS | PLAYER | PRIOR TEAM | G | GS | CONTRACT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2/14/2000 | NT | Kimo von Oelhoffen | Bengals | 95 | 94 | 4-years, $10M |
| 2/22/2000 | DE | Chris Sullivan | Patriots | 15 | 2 | 3-years, $4.73M |
| 2/28/2000 | G | Rich Tylski | Jaguars | 28 | 26 | 3-years, $3.24M |
| 2/28/2000 | QB | Kent Graham | Giants | 14 | 5 | 3-years, $5.1M |
| 5/30/2000 | S | Brent Alexander | Panthers | 64 | 64 | 2-years, $1.29M |
| 3/8/2001 | C | Jeff Hartings | Detroit | 91 | 89 | 6-years, $24.25M |
| 3/23/2001 | S | Mike Logan | Jaguars | 73 | 17 | 3-years, $3.1M |
| 4/20/2001 | LB | Mike Jones | Rams | 21 | 1 | 3-years, $2.75M |
| 3/25/2002 | K | Todd Peterson | Chiefs | 10 | 0 | 4-years, $3.975M |
| 4/5/2002 | LB | James Farrior | Jets | 154 | 154 | 3-years, $5.4M |
| 3/5/2003 | LB | Clint Kriewaldt | Detroit | 74 | 2 | 3-years, $2.38M |
| 3/17/2003 | T | Todd Fordham | Jaguars | 11 | 6 | 3-years, $2.38M |
| 3/6/2004 | P | Chris Gardocki | Browns | 48 | 0 | 5-years, $6.3M |
| 3/9/2004 | RB | Duce Staley | Eagles | 16 | 11 | 5-years, $14M |
| 3/10/2004 | DT | Travis Kirschke | 49ers | 92 | 18 | 4-years, $6.41M |
| 5/26/2004 | CB | Willie Williams | Seahawks | 20 | 11 | 1-year, $760K |
| 3/8/2005 | WR | Cedrick Wilson | 49ers | 47 | 14 | 4-years, $8M |
| 3/14/2006 | S | Ryan Clark | Redskins | 80 | 78 | 4-years, $7M |
| 3/16/2006 | DE | Rodney Bailey | Seahawks | 12 | 0 | 1-year, $625K |
| 3/10/2007 | C | Sean Mahan | Buccaneers | 16 | 16 | 5-years, $17M |
| 4/17/2007 | DT | Nick Eason | Browns | 55 | 11 | 1-year, $510K |
| 3/3/2008 | RB | Mewelde Moore | Vikings | 59 | 4 | 3-years, $4.95M |
| 3/12/2008 | LB | Keyaron Fox | Chiefs | 45 | 3 | 1-year, $645K |
| 4/24/2009 | CB | Keiwan Ratliff | Colts | 9 | 0 | 1-year, $620K |
| 5/1/2009 | WR | Shaun McDonald | Lions | 4 | 0 | 1-year, $620K |
| 3/8/2010 | WR | Arnaz Battle | 49ers | 25 | 0 | 3-years, $3.975M |
| 3/8/2010 | T | Jonathan Scott | Bills | 29 | 15 | 1-year, $540K |
| 3/8/2010 | S | Will Allen | Buccaneers | 30 | 0 | 3-years, $4.495M |
| 3/15/2010 | LB | Larry Foote | Lions | 31 | 5 | 3-years, $9.3M |
| 4/10/2012 | TE | Leonard Pope | Chiefs | 16 | 2 | 1-year, $725K |
| 3/13/2013 | QB | Bruce Gradkowski | Bengals | 1 | 0 | 3-years, $4.95M |
| 4/26/2013 | RB | LaRod Stephens-Howling | Cardinals | 1 | 0 | 1-year, $780K |
| 3/11/2014 | S | Mike Mitchell | Panthers | 48 | 48 | 5-years, $25M |
| 3/14/2014 | DT | Cam Thomas | Chargers | 32 | 10 | 2-years, $4M |
| 3/24/2014 | LB | Arthur Moats | Bills | 48 | 25 | 1-year, $795K |
| 3/28/2014 | RB | LeGarrette Blount | Patriots | 11 | 0 | 2-years, $3.85M |
| 4/2/2014 | WR | Darrius Heyward-Bey | Colts | 42 | 5 | 1-year, $795K |
| 3/10/2016 | TE | Ladarius Green | Chargers | 6 | 2 | 4-years, $20M |
| 3/15/2016 | T | Ryan Harris | Broncos | 4 | 0 | 2-years, $3.9M |
| 3/25/2016 | LB | Steven Johnson | Titans | 6 | 0 | 1-year, $815K |
| 3/31/2016 | DE | Ricardo Mathews | Chargers | 16 | 5 | 1-year, $760K |
| 5/17/2016 | TE | David Johnson | Chargers | 16 | 5 | 1-year, $760K |
