Entering free agency, the Pittsburgh Steelers need to add some players to make their team better. Ideally, a free agent signing would be on the younger side so he could give the team a quality years ins prime. One player who fits a Steelers need and is on the younger side is Buffalo Bills inside linebacker Tremaine Edmunds.
Yesterday, Kristopher Knox of Bleacher Report came out with a list of the top ten free agents under 25 years old, and listed Edmunds as the fifth best under 25 free agent and said Pittsburgh is his best fit.
“While the Steelers would need to clear some cap space to sign him—they’re projected to have less than $1 million available—they would be an ideal landing spot,” wrote Knox. “The Steelers also happen to have a potential opening for Edmunds, as Bush, Marcus Allen, Malik Reed and Robert Spillane are all scheduled to become free agents.”
With Devin Bush, Marcus Allen, and Robert Spillane all being free agents and at least one of them likely not the be back the Steelers most certainly will have a need at the inside linebacker spot. With the team currently being built to have a dominant defense, the addition of a top end inside linebacker would certainly be helpful, and would allow more picks in the draft to be used for other needs like defensive backs and in the trenches.
Tremaine Edmunds, brother of Steelers safety Terrell Edmunds had a really good season, finishing with 102 tackles, one sack, one interception, and seven pass breakups. Edmunds is also really good in coverage, something Pittsburgh’s middle linebackers have struggled with a lot in recent years. This past season he allowed a completion percentage of only 65% and a passer rating of 69.9 when targeted. For reference, Devin Bush allowed a completion percentage of 73.7% and passer rating of 107.1 when targeted.
Pittsburgh already has a really good good defense, but adding a top ten inside linebacker to the team would help out a lot, especially considering their offense is mediocre at best right now. If the Steelers plan on winning through defense in an offensive driven league, they need all the high end talent they can get. If they can get Edmunds without compromising other aspects of the team like in the defensive backfield, they should do it.