The Pittsburgh Steelers have re-signed tackle Zach Banner to a two-year deal as of Tuesday and for the most part it seemed like a forgone conclusion that would happen. Banner, however, made it known on Wednesday during an interview on 93,.7 The Fan that there were other teams interested in his services.
“There were other offers, I’m not going to lie,” Banner said.
Banner then said there was one point recently when he was walking on Redondo Beach in California where he came to the realization that there was a chance that he may have put on a Steelers jersey for the last time.
“It was just one of those things, man, when I was walking, I was thinking like, damn, I might have to put on another uniform and at one point that was a question,” Banner said Wednesday.
While Banner wouldn’t reveal the teams that had interest in him, he did indicate that at least a few teams in the AFC North were included in the lot.
“I’ll leave at this, there was a couple of NFC teams and then there was a couple of teams including some in AFC North,” Banner said. “So, we’ll leave that alone.”
It doesn’t matter who the teams were at this point because Banner has now been resigned to a contract that will put nearly $5 million in his pocket for the 2021 season. While that’s not huge money, he does appreciate at and he now looks to work at getting an even bigger contract a few years from now.
“This is great,” Banner said. “I’m really grateful. It’s a lot of money, but at the same time, it’s not where I want to stop. I want to reach that type of status that those guys have because they not only earned respect, but they put it on tape, and they put it on tape in a great timely fashion in their careers.”
Now that Banner has re-signed, he made it clear on Wednesday that he wants to make Steelers fans and the organization proud of the decision to bring him back.
“And I want to make them proud,” Banner said. “I live black and gold, Pittsburgh, yinzer type life. I work hard every single day. I wake up early and think about what it is that I have to do for myself and for my family. And that’s the definition of Pittsburgh.”
