Tim Benz: Let’s break down this list of potential Steelers free agent targets
Share this post:
The Steelers don’t have a first-round draft choice this year.
No, Minkah Fitzpatrick doesn’t count. Again.
So will they try to fill some holes via free agency instead?
We should hope. My colleagues at USA Today’s Steelers Wire listed a few potential candidates.
Let’s see which ones make sense.
Teddy Bridgewater (New Orleans Saints/QB): Steelers Wire said, “Bridgewater would be the perfect replacement for Ben Roethlisberger whenever he decides to retire.”
I wouldn’t go that far.
Perfect? No. Potentially acceptable and not a disastrous option?
Maybe.
But I view Bridgewater as more of a decent veteran backup option — if the team decides to ditch Devlin Hodges and doesn’t have faith in Mason Rudolph.
Nothing more.
And at what price?
As a starter, Bridgewater won’t be good enough. As a backup, Bridgewater may be too expensive.
If he isn’t too pricey, that’d be a great option. He probably will be, though.
If Bridgewater does have an interest in coming to Pittsburgh at an affordable salary, that would be quite the litmus test as to how sincere the franchise is when it says it’s “comfortable” with Rudolph being the backup to Roethlisberger again.
I’d prefer Bridgewater if he doesn’t ask for too much.
Peyton Barber (Tampa Bay Buccaneers/RB): Had this been presented as an option last year, I’d have been more interested.
Barber was coming off of 871 yards on 234 carries.
But his productivity dropped to 470 yards on 3.1 yards per carry in 2019. He only caught 16 passes in 16 games.
Barber did score seven touchdowns last year. So, in red zone situations, he’d be nice to have. But the Steelers can do better here. Maybe in the second round of the draft.
Hunter Henry (Los Angeles Chargers/TE): Yup. Absolutely. Where do I sign?
The Steelers need a tight end. Henry is good. Talented. Young. A former top-35 pick.
Obviously, 17 touchdowns in three years interests me. So do his skills and his 6’5” frame.
Granted, Henry has experienced injury problems (ACL, kidney, tibia plateau fracture) during his time out west. But what Steelers tight end hasn’t?
Join the club!
I think Henry would be great here. A better version of Vance McDonald if he stays healthy. Sign this TE and spend the second-round pick on a running back or an offensive lineman.
Brandon Scherff (Washington Redskins/OG): A three-time Pro Bowler, Scherff is good. But costly.
Washington may consider franchising him at $16 million per year. He reportedly turned down a $13 million per year offer last offseason.
That sounds too pricey for a guard based on the Steelers’ history.
He’s also had some injury issues, missing 13 games the last five years because of pectoral, elbow and shoulder problems.
Scherff would help.
That much more than B.J. Finney? Or moving Matt Feiler to guard? Or signing a less expensive option?
No. Probably not.
Andrew Billings (Cincinnati Bengals/DT): The Steelers were allegedly interested in him coming out of Baylor. He’d be a bigger, more run-stopping version of Javon Hargrave.
I’m not sure how the Steelers would get Billings for that much cheaper than Hargrave. And if they did, what he may add in the run game, the Steelers may lose in pass pressure up the field.
Hargrave has 14.5 career sacks since 2016. Billings only has 3.5.
With Stephon Tuitt’s injury history and Hargrave’s potential departure, Billings would be a nice option if they could get him on the cheap.
But at that point, they may be better served paying a little more for Hargrave.
Yannick Ngakoue (Jacksonville Jaguars/DE): If the Steelers don’t extend or franchise Bud Dupree?
Sure.
Unfortunately, with 37.5 sacks in four years — leading his draft class — and one missed game in Jacksonville, he’ll be a healthy cap hit, too.
Justin Simmons (Denver Broncos/Safety): Yeah. Good player.
He had four interceptions and 15 passes defensed. The Broncos may well keep him.
Plus, with Fitzpatrick on board and Terrell Edmunds still trying to develop as a first-round pick, the Steelers have invested plenty in the safety position.
Britton Colquitt (Minnesota Vikings/Punter): If your first reaction is that “he can’t be worse than Jordan Berry,” I get that.
But his numbers were almost exactly the same as Berry’s.
Fair catches, average, net, punts inside the 20, forced touchbacks. Almost identical.
But no ill-timed shanks in December? No weird fake punts out of nowhere?
I’m in.
Wait. No fun accent or stories about dangerous Australian animals?
I’m out.
Son of a Steelers player from the 70s?
Eh, I guess that trumps all.
Even as a punter.