NFL Rumors: Early Steelers Offseason Rumors

Usually a Super Bowl loss translates into a decline for the losing team but the Pittsburgh Steelers have proven to be a resilient team with a solid coaching staff and a good nucleus of players that should help them moving forward. The problem for Pittsburgh will be making sure that they can retain their free agent players while having the money needed to fill roster holes.

The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports that the Steelers have already contacted CB Ike Taylor regarding a contract extension. The poor secondary play had more to do with players like William Gay and Troy Polamalu performances than Ike Taylor who had pretty good coverage throughout the game. Re-signing Taylor would allow them to maintain some continuity in the secondary but Taylor’s career has had both up’s and down’s so it would be wise to for Pittsburgh to cautiously approach the negotiations.

Pittsburgh biggest free agent will be Lamarr Woodley who is arguably the best player on the teams defense which is really saying something for talent and ability. Woodley has already said that he is not opposed to being franchised for the upcoming season which is really good news for Pittsburgh because of the options that it gives them. They’ll still have the opportunity to negotiate a longterm contract with Woodley. Usually players that refuse the franchise tag are concerned about their longterm security but Woodley appears to be confident in his current position.

Teams that have a good track record for developing players rather than spending big money on free agent solutions (Pittsburgh, New England, Green Bay, Indianapolis) are in the best position to handle a potential lockout because they can re-sign their free agents and draft players to fill holes in their rosters.

“I don’t think we’ll be sitting here saying we’re going to make a lot of changes,” Steelers President Art Rooney II said. “We’ll prepare for the draft and add some players here and there and be ready to go.”