Today’s free agent analysis for 2024 focuses on Pittsburgh Steelers DL Renell Wren. The former fourth-round draft pick has been a part of the Steelers organization for a surprisingly long time. He has played precisely one snap in Pittsburgh but has been in the building since September 2022.
Player: Renell Wren
Position: Defensive Lineman
Experience: 3 Years
Free Agent Status: Restricted
2023 Salary Cap Hit: $475,000 (Split salary on the Reserve/Injured List from a base of $870,000)
2023 Season Breakdown:
Well, there isn’t really much to say, is there? There generally isn’t when you get to this point of the list. I do wonder how many of you even remember the name of Renell Wren or the fact he is a Steeler. They originally signed him to the practice squad on September 1, 2022, after the Philadelphia Eagles waived him.
He spent the rest of that season bouncing on and off the practice squad, briefly released in November. They elevated him to the 53-man roster late in the season and he played one single defensive snap against the Baltimore Ravens.
The Steelers signed Wren to a Reserve/Future contract after the season ended. He never got a chance to make a run at the 53-man roster, however. He suffered a torn Achilles during the offseason and landed on the Reserve/Injured List in May and remained there all season.
Free Agency Outlook:
A 2019 fourth-round draft pick by the Cincinnati Bengals, Wren earned two of three accrued seasons on the Reserve/Injured List. After playing in 11 games as a rookie, he suffered a quad injury in 2020. He hardly played in 2021, and the Bengals let him go afterward.
While he has some pedigree, he is too far removed from his draft year for that to matter much. He has spent half of his career on the Reserve/Injured List and much of the rest on the practice squad. While he may be approaching full health in the coming months, he shouldn’t have much of a market.
Will the Steelers’ interest in him continue? He is already 28 years old and has played fewer than 200 defensive snaps. They are somewhat thin along the defensive line but not so much as to sign anybody with broad shoulders.
One thing we do know is they will certainly not tender him as a restricted free agent. The right-of-first-refusal tender is projected to be worth nearly $3 million. At best, the Steelers might re-sign him on a Veteran Salary Benefit contract with no signing bonus.
Beyond that, we really have nothing to say about him as a Steeler. The reality is we’ve basically never seen him. He never participated in an open practice or preseason game. I don’t even recall his one defensive snap in 2022. I must have blinked.
