Steelers Free Agents

Okay, so look at this: http://insider.espn.go.com/nfl/fa?oldTeamId=23. Take the time to scroll down and look at what the grades mean.

Take a moment to realize that Max Starks, whom the Steelers just franchised and gave $8.5 million, has a grade of 69, which equates to "Average Starter." Now move past that. If you can.

Actually, give me a minute...

Okay.

Now, take away the Restricted Free Agents (RFA) because they're basically screwed. They have pretty much no choice but to stick with the Steelers in 2009 if we offer them a deal.

That leaves Charlie Batch, Byron Leftwich, Keyaron Fox, Andre Frasier, Orpheus Roye, Bryant McFadden, Nate Washington, and Jamel White.

If you find yourself saying, "Wait, who the hell is Keyaron Fox? Jamel White? Was he on the Cosby Show? Who's Andre Frasier?" you're not alone. So, take those guys out. The Steelers will sign them easily if they want to because pretty much no one knows who they are.

Take out Byron Leftwich. He earned a chance to sign with a team that doesn't have a two-time Super Bowl winning quarterback that also had more victories in his first five seasons than any quarterback in history. Roethlisberger isn't going anywhere and Leftwich knows it. So he's going elsewhere.

Charlie Batch? He's a free agent? Really? He and his fragile collar bone are going to leave Homestead and go somewhere where he's not considered a living god? You're sure? I'm not. He stays or retires.

At this point, you're left with Orpheus Roye, Bryant McFadden, and Nate Washington. Anyone that says that the Steelers have 12 pending free agents is lying to you. Don't you believe them.

Orpheus Roye:

Has an awesome name, but is 36. At three days older than dirt, he's still the youngest defensive lineman the Steelers have. (I kid because I care, but, seriously, our defensive line is loooooong in the tooth.) He's in a Kimo von Olhoffen situation. If he signs with us, I'm happy. If some dumbass team gives him a three year contract for $10 million, I'm happy for him. It's possible that he signs for the veteran minimum to play for a team that has a good shot at repeating, but the Steelers aren't going to overpay for him.

They reserve that behavior for Max Starks. Moving on.

Nate Washington:

He'd be freakin' amazing if he could only catch the ball. Unfortunately, we're all professionals here. If a player can't catch the ball at this point, it ain't gonna happen. Like Dwight Stone, he's a fast, versatile dude that can't catch.

If we can get him for four years and $13 million or so (I'm not being extravagant, the salary cap is out of control and that's pretty much fair market value), then keep him. But, I'm not prepared to offer Randle-El money for him (six years, $27 million).

With Limas Sweed on the roster -- basically the same guy, only taller, younger, and cheaper -- it's not worth breaking the bank to keep him. Especially since I think we draft a receiver in the first three rounds this year.

Bryant McFadden:

He has the highest grade of any of our free agents at 73 (Good Starter). I've been a McFadden fan since we drafted him and I hate Florida State, so that should tell you something.

Deshea Townsend can't play forever, William Gay will never be more than a nickle back, and it's only a matter of time until Ike Taylor starts to bitch about the fact that he's severely underpaid (he really is). We need to re-sign McFadden.

Here's the issue. The Colts bent us over and played like all the bad parts of season two of Oz with our anus. They signed Kelvin Hayden -- a man that had a 73 grade on the main list for cornerbacks to a five year contract worth $43 million.

After we sign James Harrison to a long term deal, McFadden should be our first priority. However, if the Colts have priced him out of the market, then we're in a bad, bad spot.

Either we commit that kind of money to McFadden and Taylor gets pissed (understandably, since he was a Pro Bowl alternate in 2008) or we decide he isn't worth it and he gets Hayden money somewhere else.

I don't see how we can win this, so I am going to trust the nice folks in the Steelers front office.

(Takes a moment and realizes they're the same morons that franchise tagged Max Starks.)

CRAP!