The NFL has changed dramatically over the years and the advent of free agency in 1993 has changed the way teams are assembled. The Los Angeles Rams, for example, went for broke a couple of seasons ago to win a championship by trading away every draft pick they could for big stars and now they can’t sign free agents because of the salary cap and have precious few opportunities to replenish their team through the NFL Draft.
The Steelers have always built through the draft with the very occasional free-agent splash, it is in their organizational DNA. Omar Khan and Andy Weidl’s arrival as general manager and assistant general manager is not likely to signal a radical departure from that philosophy. The NFL is changing, and Khan is best known for making the salary cap work for the Steelers rather than against them, and that could signal a more aggressive approach in free agency.
Steelers Might Be More Attractive As A Free Agency Destination Than They Think
The Steelers have another weapon at their disposal if they choose to alter how they bring in players. Pittsburgh has resisted free agency as a solution. If the recent struggles of the head coach and the criticism that has followed have taught us anything, it should be that players in the NFL respect Tomlin tremendously. Free agency is akin to college football recruiting, so why not roll out your biggest gun and embrace it?
Fred Taylor, who was a borderline Hall of Fame running back, said as much on The Pivot Podcast before last season began:
“I’ve been waiting 14 years for this,” Taylor said. “In 2009, the Jacksonville Jaguars release me, and there was only two teams I wanted to hear from: one was the Patriots and the other one was the Pittsburgh Steelers. Why didn’t you hit me up, boss?”
Taylor expressed his desire to come to Pittsburgh when it was too late to do anything about it, but how many current veterans feel the same way? The Steelers are careful with their cap space and will probably never be at the top of the free-agent market offering huge contracts. The NFL is paying players at historical rates at all positions, but it is creating a strong undercurrent of players the Steelers don’t normally target: the veterans in their late 20's and early 30's who are cap casualties, like Taylor was in 2009.
The perception is that free agents like Bobby Wagner are out of reach because he is "too old" and too expensive. Wagner isn’t a long-term solution, but he probably has two highly productive seasons left, and with Tomlin’s popularity with players, could he convince him to take a little less to play in Pittsburgh? Tomlin can’t work miracles, but if he could intervene and convince Wagner to take a million or two less, suddenly the Steelers could afford him.
It isn’t limited to just Wagner, and the Steelers could revolutionize their approach to free agency by allowing Tomlin to participate in the process. He would not be usurping Khan’s authority, but augmenting his reach by being part of the process. If there is a free agent who is just out of reach, Tomlin could occasionally make a difference by bridging the gap between money and happiness. It is a role that Tomlin was born for, and it is past time that Pittsburgh realized it.
Tomlin isn’t going to convince Orlando Brown Jr. to take half his market value, but he might convince a veteran player to shave just enough off his demand to wear the black and gold. Pittsburgh is never going to abandon the draft as the primary team builder, but it’s a new regime and there is no better time to adjust to what the Steeler Way is going to be in the 21st century.
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