If you were rooting for Mychael Kendricks to sign with the Pittsburgh Steelers, sit down. I’ve got some bad news for you.
Kendricks is reported to have three visits lined up this week with NFL teams. And nope, the Steelers didn’t get a rose. According to multiple reports, including Jordan Schultz, the ex-Eagle will be meeting with Minnesota, Oakland, and Cleveland.
As Schultz reports, Kendricks is expected to sign by the end of the week aka, Pittsburgh isn’t ever going to be in play.
This shouldn’t come as any surprise to Steelers’ fans. While the idea of Kendricks to Pittsburgh always looked good on paper and was a viable fit, the Steelers went in another direction this offseason, signing Jon Bostic to a two-year deal. With the team high on Tyler Matakevich, there wasn’t room for another linebacker.
Another issue was cost. I’m not sure exactly how much Kendricks is going to make when he finally does sign but it’s likely enough to really stress the team’s cap space, even acknowledging Omar Khan’s wizardry. It’d be an even bigger problem if Kendricks signs a one-year deal, something that is totally possible, because there’s no way the Steelers could push some of that cash into year two and give themselves more flexibility for the present.
Bottom line is this. Signing Kendricks was always a nice idea and I don’t begrudge any fan who wanted to see him in black and gold. But with the moves Pittsburgh made this offseason and the reality of the cap situation, it was more dreams than reality.
I guess the best thing to hope for is that he doesn’t sign with the Browns.
