Steelers GM Kevin Colbert mentioned Tuesday that they hasn’t ruled out using their transition tag on free agent OLB Jason Worilds for the second-straight year, per Gerry Dulac.
However, Colbert did say that his preference would be to avoid the franchise and/or transition tag.
“We never like to use the tag,” Colbert said, per Mark Kaboly. “It is not our preference.”
With Worilds set to be an unrestricted free agent, using one of their designations could be their best approach towards keeping him in Pittsburgh for at least another year.
According to Colbert, Worilds is still an “ascending” player coming off of a good season.
“He had a good year for us,” Colbert said. “He’s still a young, ascending player. I don’t think you’ve seen the best of Jason Worilds.”
If Pittsburgh were to use their transition tag on Worlids for the second-consecutive season, it would them close to $11 million.
Worilds recently came up as speculative option for the Titans, now that they’ve added Dick LeBeau to their defensive coaching staff.
Worilds, 26, appeared in all 16 games for the Steelers this past season and recorded 59 tackles, 7.5 sacks, one interception, a forced fumble and two recoveries.
Pro Football Focus has him rated as the No. 11 outside linebacker in a 3-4 defense out of 46 qualifying players. We have Worilds listed as the No. 14 player in our Top 75 Free Agents list.
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