News, notes, rumors and lies:
I�ve bitched and moaned plenty whenever the Steeler FO has made what, IMO, is a bonehead move; that so, it�s only right to deliver praise when that is due.� Yesterday, the FO re-did their deals with Alan Faneca and Aaron Smith; so doing, they cleared 2.783M from the 2003 cap.� That�s all good; some of that cash can be used towards securing a FA D-back, some for bumping T-Max as that may be right and necessary to balance pay-with-play towards getting seriously into the FA QB market.� Maybe, some can be used towards getting veteran insurance at LOT, whether with Roman Oben or Todd Fordham.
Regardless, Smith and Faneca are exactly the right guys to extend.� Consider:
- You can�t clear any significant cash unless the players you�re dealing with have significant contracts.� Faneca�s deal was 3rd on the O-side; Smith�s 4th among defenders.
- The longer the existing deal, the less the cap implications per year.� Both Faneca and Smith are signed through 2007; that 2.783M will count over the term but at just � per year from 2004 thru 2007.� That is, their collective cap hit will jump up a bit less than 700K for each of those four years; we can expect this to be subsumed within the seasonal rise for that ceiling number.
- Both Faneca and Smith are young, cornerstone players now laboring under Contract 2.� When the 2007 season concludes, Faneca will have finished his 10th season, Smith his 9th.�� It is reasonable to presume that both will play through the term; that is, barring injury, it is reasonable to presume that there will be zero dead money accruing in any future season.
Joey Porter is the next logical candidate; like the two above, Porter is signed through 2007 too and, like the two above, Porter must be considered a cornerstone player.� Porter�s deal was just a bit lighter than Smith�s; it is, or was, 5th on the D-side.� Doing a deal with Joey similar to Smith�s, the FO may clear something around 1.117M.�
Chad Scott may be a candidate too.� Scott�s deal is 2nd on the D-side; that meets the big money criteria and like those above, Scott is a Contract Two player. Scott� s deal runs through 2006 and that would be just his 10th year.� Conceivably, Scott could be reduced around 2.7M for 2003; doing so though, the FO would bump the nut about 900K each year from 2004 thru 2006.� That�s pretty steep; add to that the fact that it is by no means obvious that Chad is a cornerstone and, well, this is an extension that may be more doable than desirable.
Excluding Hartings, the remaining big dollar deals are all with Contract Three players: Washington, Gildon, Bettis and Breuner in whack order.� It would be clearly insane to extend any of those men; it is already obvious that none will make the term of their deals.� That is, Washington won�t see 2005 here, let alone the other three who each are signed through 2006.� Sure, in dealing with those guys now, the FO could clear cap for 2003 but in doing so would take on a crushing dead money burden from 2004 forward.� It was my opinion at the time that neither the Bettis nor Gildon deals were solid investments; extending either now would be tossing the good money after bad.� The same is true for MB and Washington; if Omar Khan is half the cap-god he seems to be, those deals just won�t happen.
Elsewhere on the wire:
- The Pats have signed Russ Colvin and so dropped out of the Clark Haggans Derby.� Word is that Houston now prefers Keith Newman to Haggans.� Newman was displaced at Buffalo when the Bills signed former Texan Jeff Posey.� Evidently, Haggans is widely regarded as the lesser option among he, Posey and Newman.� That�s about right IMO; likely, like Gildon in �97, Haggans will get no offers from his RFA tour.
- One rumor on the KFFL wire is that the Steelers are negotiating a trade with the Saints that would land OT Kyle Turley in Pittsburgh in exchange for 2.59 this season and a conditional 2nd to 4th in 2004, the contingency being whether or not Turley does a long-term deal here.� Turley is a quality tackle and, considering that Marvel Smith has made 41 of the 42 starts at OT summed by all players on the current roster, this is a move that makes sense, at least on paper.�� However, character, or team chemistry, is an issue with Turley; famously, this player has fought with teammates, coaches, officials and opponents alike.� While Kyle Turley may be BAP in FA now, it not at all clear that the unit performance would be improved with his addition.� That is for Russ Grim to judge; similarly, Grim has to determine whether or not Nkwenti is ready to roll.� In the best case, he is good to go now but, if not, maybe the Steelers can use Todd Fordham as a bridge to the Mathias Era.� Failing that, well, the Steeler medicos will make their money getting Turley�s dosage adjusted.� Regardless, there is no reason to believe that the Steelers can draft an immediate starter at LOT this spring; the top dogs (Gross, Harris and Steinbach) figure to be long gone and the rest just aren�t anywhere close.
- Credit to Tom Donahoe who dealt out Peerless Price to Atlanta and so recaptured the 1st round pick he�d sent to NE for Bledsoe last year.� The Price deal built on the judgment of the last regime there that, in �01, franchised Eric Moulds and so lost Marcellus Wiley.� Donahoe has re-built his OLB group with Posey and Takeo Spikes; now, he has the Bills in the running for Sam Adams.� If Buffalo does land Adams, they will look at some speed rushing DE at 1.23.� If they get their man then, the Bills may finally (partially) re-coup the loss of Wiley, not to mention Bruce Smith.� Not bad; you�ve got to wonder who gets to the big dance first, Mr. Cowher or Mr. Donahoe.
- In the wake of Arizona inking Dexter Jackson to a deal which makes him the 2nd highest paid FS in the NFL, it is increasingly obvious that the best use of the Steelers� pick at 3.92 would be as compensation to KC for absconding with RFA SS Greg Wesley.�