Steelers 2020 free-agency primer: Difficult decisions loom
Instead of focusing on ways to stop and attack the New England Patriots for a playoff game this week, the Pittsburgh Steelers will turn their attention to 2020.
“When you are not in the tournament,” coach Mike Tomlin said at his season-ending news conference Tuesday, “it allots you more time for that self-analysis, if you will. So we are going to utilize that time in the appropriate ways in an effort to begin the foundation of what is 2020.”
While Tomlin said it is way too early to have a comprehensive strategy laid out for free agency, what is known is who the Steelers’ own free agents are.
Officially, the new NFL league year begins 4 p.m. March 18. At that point, all 2019 contracts expire and 2020 free agency begins. Here is a breakdown of what might happen in the coming months:
Unrestricted
After four seasons of NFL experience, players whose contracts expire are eligible for unrestricted free agency. They are free to sign with any team, and teams losing more (and more valuable) unrestricted free agents than they sign receive draft-pick compensation. Potential unrestricted free agents also could be subjected to the “franchise” or “transition” tags.
Unrestricted Steelers: OLB Bud Dupree ($9.23 million 2019 salary), OL B.J. Finney ($3.1 million), DL Javon Hargrave ($2.025 million), S Sean Davis ($1.007 million), CB Artie Burns ($957,862), LB Tyler Matakevich ($720,000), LS Kameron Canaday ($720,000), TE Nick Vannett ($606,118).
How they got here: Rookie contracts are four years long, so it’s the 2016 draft class (what’s left of it) that’s eligible this season: Burns, Davis, Hargrave and Matakevich. Dupree just played out his fifth-year option. Finney has been with the Steelers since signing as an undrafted free agent in 2015. Canaday beat out sixth-round pick Colin Holba to be the long snapper in 2017, and Vannett was acquired via trade in September.
Outlook: Coming off a career year, Dupree understandably will get all the attention, and Tomlin made it clear keeping him is a priority. Burns and Davis are as good as gone, and as much as the Steelers probably would like to keep Hargrave, it seems much more likely another team makes him an offer he can’t refuse.
The approach toward Finney is fluid pending how the Steelers want to approach their offensive line. Will they bring back veteran left guard Ramon Foster? And if not, would they tab Finney as his replacement or move Matt Feiler to guard and open up the right tackle job?
The best guess on Canaday is he’s back but with some camp competition. Vannett is a comfortable option as a backup tight end if he is willing to re-sign at a bargain price. The same can be said for Matakevich as a special-teams standout (who would have thought that of the 2016 draft class, only the final pick would get a second contract?).
Restricted
Players with three accrued seasons whose contracts expire must receive a qualifying offer from their team before entering restricted free agency. The qualifying offer can vary based on tier (starting at slightly more than $2 million and escalating to more than $4.5 million for a first-round compensation), and the current team gets right of first refusal for any offer sheet a restricted free agent signs with another team.
Restricted Steelers: CB Mike Hilton ($645,000), OL Matt Feiler ($645,000), OL Zach Banner ($645,000), S Jordan Dangerfield ($645,000).
How they got here: Hilton, Feiler and Dangerfield have three accrued seasons each after spending differing amounts of time on the Steelers practice squad. Banner was signed midway through the 2018 training camp after he split his rookie season between the Colts and Browns. Banner has spent each of the past two seasons on the Steelers 53-man roster.
Outlook: By definition, each of these players is a year away from unrestricted free agency and therefore eligible by Steelers policy for a long-term extension. Each is an interesting case, although the guess here is none get multiyear deals and the Steelers instead give higher-value tenders to Hilton, Feiler and Banner. For the latter two, it could be dependent on what the team decides to do with Foster and Finney. It is possible Banner and Feiler start on the offensive line next season. If the Steelers have that much faith in those two, perhaps they would work to lock them up over a longer term.
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Chris Adamski is a TribLive reporter who has covered primarily the Pittsburgh Steelers since 2014 following two seasons on the Penn State football beat. A Western Pennsylvania native, he joined the Trib in 2012 after spending a decade covering Pittsburgh sports for other outlets. He can be reached at cadamski@triblive.com.
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