“SIGN THE HONEY BADGER!”
It’s the war cry of local fanboys who want to collect football cards, not build a team.
Tyrann Mathieu is a good safety. A bit beat up at 29, perhaps, thanks to being extremely physical, 5-foot-9, and having played nine NFL seasons. But he’s a three-time first-team All-Pro, most recently in 2020.
He’s a free agent. He won’t sign cheap. He made $14 million with Kansas City last season.
He’s got a great nickname. If Mathieu’s name was Joe Smith and he had no catchy moniker, Steelers fans wouldn’t be screaming, “SIGN JOE SMITH!”
Minkah Fitzpatrick, also a safety, has one season left on his contract. He will want approximately $60 million over four years. That’s in line with the NFL’s top safeties.
If the Steelers keep Fitzpatrick, which they will, they shouldn’t sign Mathieu. That would be spending too much money at safety, a relatively inconsequential position. They need a legit cornerback much more than they need another marquee safety.
So, bring back Terrell Edmunds.
Free agency started over three weeks ago. Edmunds remains unsigned. There isn’t great demand. (Mathieu being unsigned suggests something, BTW.)
Some see Edmunds as a bust because he was the Steelers’ first-round pick (28th overall) in 2018 and has been mostly average.
But, at the right price, average isn’t bad.
Edmunds won’t get the $6.7 million he would have had the Steelers picked up the fifth-year option on his rookie contract. He won’t get what Mathieu will, either.
But Edmunds knows the Steelers’ system. He works well with Fitzpatrick. He’s only missed one game out of 65 since entering the NFL in 2018, starting 60.
If Edmunds was a third-round pick, he’d be seen as a big success.
Forget the Honey Badger. Re-sign Edmunds, if he’s amenable to being affordable. It should be one of the easiest decisions of the Steelers’ offseason.
