The journey toward Super Bowl LII ended far too prematurely for the Pittsburgh Steelers, sending them into offseason mode before we were ready for it. But we are in it now, and are ready to move on, through the Combine, through free agency, through the draft, into OTAs, and beyond.
We have asked and answered a lot of questions over the years and will continue to do so, and at the moment, there seem to be a ton of questions that need answering. A surprise early exit in the postseason will do that to you though, especially when it happens in the way it did.
You can rest assured that we have the questions, and we will be monitoring developments all throughout the offseason process, all the way down to Latrobe. Pending free agents, possible veteran roster cuts, contract extensions, pre-draft visits, pro days, all of it will have its place when the time arises.
Question: Of the Steelers’ remaining free agents, which if any are the most likely to be re-signed at some point?
The Steelers had a number of players from their 2017 53-man roster hitting free agency, and they managed to re-sign the majority of the key names, in particular running back Le’Veon Bell, albeit not technically just yet—whenever he signs his franchise tag. Probably six days before the start of the regular season.
Only one of their free agents has thus far signed elsewhere in unrestricted free agency, that being Chris Hubbard, but the Steelers did recently re-sign another two of their own, much to the confusion of many fans. Running back Fitzgerald Toussaint and nose tackle Daniel McCullers have both been brought back after agreeing to one-year contracts that earn them the minimum salary for the season.
There is still a number of other players left that they have not re-signed. While it is being assumed that they won’t be re-signed at this point, I would gather that most thought Toussaint and McCullers would not have been, either, so that is why this question is being asked.
The list of the named of Steelers unrestricted free agents (as well as street free agents, whom they released) reads as follows: Arthur Moats; Eli Rogers; Greg Ducre; Justin Hunter; Mike Matthews; Mike Mitchell; Robert Golden; Sean Spence; William Gay; Stevan Ridley.
Of those nine names, which have the greatest chance of returning to the team? Moats has to be mentioned, since Jeremy Fowler reported that the Steelers left the door open for a possible return. Rogers, who was a restricted free agent, is rehabbing, so he could be a later possibility.
I do think that those two are by far the most likely options, but It’s possible Golden could be brought back as well. If he were making a veteran-minimum salary to start with, he may not have been released in the first place. Mitchell was mentioned as somebody they might consider bringing back, but that was before the Morgan Burnett signing.
What do you think?
