In 2nd week, free agency taking backseat to draft preparation for Steelers
After being active in the first week of free agency, the Pittsburgh Steelers have turned to preparations for the NFL Draft next month.
In a video interview with the team’s website, general manager Kevin Colbert said the Steelers are on “pause” in the free agency process.
The Steelers agreed to terms with fullback Derek Watt, tight end Eric Ebron and guard/center Stefen Wisniewski. They also executed a trade with the Baltimore Ravens to acquire defensive end Chris Wormley.
“Can we still do some things further down the road? Sure,” Colbert said. “In the short term, I would say we’re temporarily — I don’t want to say we’re out of business — but we’re satisfied with where we are at this point.
“We’ll continue to address it as it continues to unwind and we get deeper into our draft meetings.”
Colbert said if the predraft meetings determine the Steelers won’t get a player at a specific position, they will revisit free agency to fill that void.
As a result of the signings, Colbert said “we’re up against it pretty good,” in reference to the $198.3 million salary cap.
“We made a lot of anticipated moves that we wanted to make.”
The Steelers added Wormley’s $2.133 million cap hit for the fourth and final year of his rookie contract. He will provide depth at a position that lost free agent nose tackle Javon Hargrave to the Philadelphia Eagles.
Wormley started 15 games in his three seasons with the Ravens and appeared in every game the past two years.
“He’s someone we’ve always had a lot of respect for,” Colbert said. “When he came out of the University of Michigan, he was very interesting to us as a draftable player.”
Colbert, the team’s coaches and scouts have been working from home as mandated by the NFL during the coronavirus pandemic. He called the first two days of meetings this week “productive.”
“Everybody has been working together and trying to stay ahead of the draft preparation that is necessary,” he said. “It’s like sitting in the draft room for these meetings.”
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Joe Rutter is a TribLive reporter who has covered the Pittsburgh Steelers since the 2016 season. A graduate of Greensburg Salem High School and Point Park, he is in his fifth decade covering sports for the Trib. He can be reached at jrutter@triblive.com.
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