Steelers Aren't Giving Up on Darnell Savage Signing

The Pittsburgh Steelers still haven't officially signed safety Darnell Savage. One of their earliest free agent agreements, even finalizing terms before Jaquan Brisker did, Savage is viewed as part of the roster - but he still isn't "on the team."

Everyone is asking why. The team has given little update on the situation and now over a month after agreeing to a deal, Savage still isn't officially signed. It's left many wondering if he ever will, and which side is holding up putting pen to paper on the one-year contract.

Well, here's what's going on.

The Steelers and Savage agreed to a one-year, $1.4 million deal back in March. Everything was set to be finalized only days later, when the first round of free agents signed their deals and then spoke to the media for their introduction press conferences.

However, when the line of free agents finished talking, Savage wasn't there.

At first, the Steelers were saying it was nothing and that something Savage needed to do was delaying actually signing, but that he would eventually. It became known that Savage was dealing with some sort of injury that he needed to address before signing his deal, and that the team wasn't worried about the situation but rather being cautious.

It's not uncommon for a player to agree to a deal with a team and wait some time before signing because of things like injuries. If it's nothing serious, they're usually able to heal and then pass a physical, finalizing everything.

That's still what's happening with Savage.

The only strange part if the timeline. Twice now, the Steelers have hinted that a Savage contract was going to be signed and neither time did it happen. Pittsburgh never put a hard date on when things would be finished, so they aren't lying about anything, but nothing ever came from those expected dates.

Will Savage Ever Sign?

Chances are he will. The Steelers aren't in a big rush to get Savage here today, and with Organized Team Activities not starting until May 18, they have another two weeks before they need to push the matter.

If Savage isn't here throughout OTAs or mandatory minicamp, it becomes something to monitor more closely. At that point, it may be indicating that whatever this injury is isn't going to heal anytime soon, and maybe the Steelers need to begin looking for other options.

For now, though, the team isn't worried about the delay. And fans shouldn't be yet, either.