When it comes to how the Stephon Tuitt situation wrapped up with the Pittsburgh Steelers, Mark Madden of 105.9 The X and TribLIVE said he saw the retirement coming.
“Not to blow my own horn, but … toot-toot,” Madden said on this week’s “Madden Monday” podcast. “I said two months ago he was retiring. I knew he was. And the Steelers knew, too.”
According to Madden, the lull between the decision and the actual announcement was multifaceted.
“I could tell you 100% the Steelers knew he was retiring two months ago. They just asked him to hold off on his announcement. Mostly to get him to change his mind. Cam Heyward was in charge of that,” Madden insisted.
But even though that didn’t work out, Madden is convinced the Steelers wouldn’t have approached their offseason plan any differently.
“Had they announced two months ago, had they not believed for even a second that he’d be coming back, I don’t think they would’ve drafted differently. I still think they would’ve taken Kenny Pickett. I don’t think they would’ve handled free agency any different,” Madden said.
That’s a point I agree with. For as much as the Steelers need depth on the defensive line, I’m not sure there was another 3-4 defensive lineman in the first wave of free agency that they would’ve signed, even if they knew that Tuitt was retiring.
Now, what about Akiem Hicks in the second wave of free agency as a nose tackle/defensive end to lift some of the burden off Tyson Alualu, after the draft and roughly a day before Tuitt retired?
Yeah. Maybe. But he ended up going to Tampa Bay.
But I don’t know if they draft all that differently even if they did know about Tuitt. Maybe they take defensive lineman Travis Jones out of UConn in the second round instead of wide receiver George Pickens.
Then again, the Steelers were actually thinner at wide receiver than they were along the defensive line, with or without Tuitt. They had more bodies at the D-line than they did at wide receiver or running back. After Heyward and Alualu, there’s Isaiahh Loudermilk, Chris Wormley, the Davis twins (Carlos and Khalil), DeMarvin Leal, Henry Mondeaux and others.
And I bet running back and outside linebacker are where the Steelers’ money goes in free agency between now and the start of the regular season, even before defensive line.
“I think they really liked Pickens,” Madden continued. “So I’m not sure that would’ve turned out any different. The only way it’s really a major thing is if you don’t take Pickett. So I am very confident when I say it wouldn’t have changed anything about how they put the roster together from the time they knew Tuitt was going to retire, to the time he actually announced his retirement.”
Elsewhere in the podcast, Madden and I also talk about the NHL conference finals. We analyze the future of the Penguins’ free agent situation. We discuss the Pirates’ recent hot stretch and some of Devin Bush’s recent comments.
Listen: Tim Benz and Mark Madden talk Stephon Tuitt’s retirement; plus Penguins, Pirates and more
