Now that the 2020 offseason has begun, following a second consecutive season in which they failed to even reach the playoffs, it’s time to take stock of where the Pittsburgh Steelers stand. Specifically where Steelers players stand individually based on what we have seen happen over the course of the past season, and with notice to anything that happens going forward.
A stock evaluation can take a couple of different approaches and I’ll try to make clear my reasonings. In some cases it will be based on more long-term trends, such as an accumulation of offseason activity. In other instances it will be a direct response to something that just happened. So we can see a player more than once over the course of the summer as we move forward.
Player: DB Arrion Springs
Stock Value: Sold
Reasoning: This is a bit of an interesting case, because Springs was on the initial training camp roster, but was placed on the reserve/Covid-19 list. He was one of four players to be added to the list, and was the first to come off, but the team waived him after he was cleared.
It was just a couple of weeks ago that we introduced you to Arrion Springs, the first-year defensive back whom the Steelers originally signed on April 16, relatively shortly after the XFL shut its doors on its inaugural season. And now he is already gone.
Not that that is a surprise. The Steelers signed nine players who had participated in the XFL earlier this year, and already, including Springs, four of them have been waived, the others being Christian Kuntz, Tyree Kinnel, and Dewayne Hendrix.
Collegiately with Oregon, Springs would play both cornerback and safety, compiling 42 passes defensed with two interceptions over a four-year college career. Undrafted in 2018, he signed with the Kansas City Chiefs, and then ended up bouncing around with several more teams over the next two seasons.
Playing for the Los Angeles Wildcats in the XFL, he ended up starting the five games that they did play, recording 16 tackles and an interception during his time there. It was likely his versatility in the secondary that the Steelers coveted in him.
NFL teams were required to reduce their rosters from 90 players to 80 players by August 16, and if they failed to do so before then, they would be required to run split-squad practices. In order to avoid this, the Steelers waived a number of players, and Springs ended up being one of those casualties.
Pittsburgh is already comfortable with the top five cornerbacks that it has on the roster, and the Steelers may not even choose to keep more than that. The favorite dark horse is rookie undrafted free agent Trajan Bandy, who is a slot defender.
