The Pittsburgh Steelers are now into the offseason, following a year in which they had high hopes for Super Bowl success, but ultimately fell short of even reaching the postseason at 8-8. It was a tumultuous season, both on the field and within the roster, and the months to follow figure to have some drama as well, especially in light of the team’s failure to improve upon the year before.
The team made some bold moves over the course of the past year, and some areas of the roster look quite a bit different than they did a year ago, or even at the start of the regular season. Whether due to injuries or otherwise, a lot has transpired, and we’re left to wonder how much more will change prior to September.
How will Ben Roethlisberger’s rehab progress as he winds toward recovery from an elbow injury that cost him almost the entire season? What about some of the key young players, some of whom have already impressed, others still needing quite a bit of growth? Will there be changes to the coaching staff? The front office? Who will they not retain in free agency, and whom might they bring in?
These are the sorts of questions among many others that we have been exploring on a daily basis and will continue to do so. Football has become a year-round pastime and there is always a question to be asked, though there is rarely a concrete answer, as I’ve learned in my years of doing this.
Question: What sort of value will Sean Davis present on the open market?
Outside of Bud Dupree, nobody for the Pittsburgh Steelers who is currently scheduled to be a free agent has played more snaps in the NFL than has Sean Davis, the four-year veteran safety who was limited to just 55 snaps in the second game of the season in 2019 due to injuries.
And yet it doesn’t seem as though anybody is talking about him relative to his free agency future. It’s important to remember that Davis is not a player who lost his job. And one does have to wonder if, for example, Davis still had two or three more years on his contract, the Steelers would have made the same move to get Minkah Fitzpatrick. They did acknowledge the injury helped precipitate the trade, and they knew his contract was up.
Since coming into the league as a second-round pick in 2019, Davis has logged 2722 defensive snaps, including well over 900 snaps in both 2017 and 2018. He even logged 740 snaps during his rookie season, starting 41 of the 48 games in which he has played.
Over the course of that time, he has recorded 247 tackles with 11 tackles for loss, five interceptions, 20 passes defensed, a forced fumble a fumble recovery, and two and a half sacks with seven quarterback hits. He is a veteran who will be able to start. He is coming off of an injury, yes, but nobody should think he’s going to sign a veteran-minimum deal or something.
