With the bulk of free agency now over, quite a few tendered restricted free agents around the league are beginning to sign their one-year offers after failing to receive any interest from other teams. On Tuesday, Pittsburgh Steelers tight end Xavier Grimble signed his restricted tender, according to the league’s official transaction sheet.
In early March, the Steelers restricted tendered Grimble at the lowest level and that gave them the right-of-first-refusal had the tight end ultimately signed an offer sheet with another team during free agency. The amount of that low one-year restricted tender that Grimble received was $2.025 million and that’s what he’s scheduled to now earn in 2019 if he makes the final 53-man roster.
Grimble is currently second on the Steelers tight end depth chart behind starter Vance McDonald now that former tight end Jesse James has signed a free agent contract with the Detroit Lions. The Steelers, however, are expected to address the tight end position at some point during the 2019 NFL Draft.
Grimble, who first signed with the Steelers in 2015 as a member of their practice squad, has since played in 44 regular season games for Pittsburgh. He has registered 22 total receptions for 236 yards and 3 touchdowns in the last three seasons and also played quite a bit on special teams during that span. Unfortunately for Grimble, he’s currently most remembered for his fumble at the goal-line last season during the Steelers road loss to the Denver Broncos.
The Steelers other tendered restricted free agent this offseason, offensive lineman B.J. Finney, signed his second-round tender on April 2. That signing has him scheduled to earn $3.095 million in 2019 and barring him signing an extension before the start of the regular season, he’ll be scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent next March.
Currently, Steelers cornerback Mike Hilton, who was exclusive rights tendered earlier in the offseason, is the only such player yet to sign. In late March, it was reported that Hilton would wait a while to sign his $645,000 exclusive rights tender in hopes that he would sign a long-term contract with the Steelers later on in the offseason like tackle Alejandro Villanueva did a few years ago. Hilton is reportedly in attendance this week for the start of the Steelers offseason program and he has no plans of sitting out OTA practices.
