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 will B.J. Finney’s free agency market look like, assuming he reaches the market?
The start of the new league year is roughly a week away now. There are still a lot of things the Steelers need to know that they don’t yet know before we reach that point. The big question for every team in the league is whether or not there is going to be a new Collective Bargaining Agreement in place, because that’s going to influence what they’re capable of doing in terms of moving money.
This happens to affect the Steelers more than most teams given that they have the second-least cap space in the league and also want to use the franchise tag. So they need as many tools at their disposal to manufacture that space.
There are a few things I’m taking as a given at this point: Bud Dupree will be tagged; Ramon Foster, Anthony Chickillo, and Mark Barron will be waived; and Javon Hargrave will sign elsewhere in free agency. Some combination of the rest of the remaining questions is workable, but limited.
Then there is B.J. Finney, the most significant unrestricted free agent the Steelers have this offseason other than Dupree and Hargrave. Given that the Steelers would save $4 million by releasing Foster, I don’t think they would re-sign Finney if it cost them roughly the same in 20200 cap hit. So if his value on the open market proves to be relatively significant, there’s an excellent chance he’s yet another player they will lose.
