Steelers Morning Huddle 3/1/2014
By Kim Myers
Oct 13, 2013; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger (7) huddles up teammates against the New York Jets during the first half at MetLife Stadium. The Steelers won the game 19-6. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports
Steelers season goes all year long so whether we’re looking ahead to the start of free agency, predicting the possible draft choices, or looking around for mentions of your Black & Gold we’ve got you covered. Here’s what’s being said about your Pittsburgh Steelers around the block.
2014 Salary Cap Set
The NFL has officially set the salary cap for 2014 at $133 million. Teams were informed on Friday by the league. The increase is definitely appreciated by the Pittsburgh Steelers, who are projected to be about $5.75 million over the cap with less than two weeks to get under. This means that you can expect next week to be filled with cuts and restructures while the Steelers attempt to get in compliance with the salary cap as well as sign their in-house free agents before they can hit the market.
Top Steelers free agents to draw attention from other teams
ESPN’s Scott Brown states that the three unrestricted free agents for the Steelers who will most likely draw the most attention on the open market are Jason Worilds, Emmanuel Sanders, and Ziggy Hood. We’ll have less than two weeks to see if the Steelers are going to try to re-sign Worilds before he hits free agency but we can already assume that they’re going to let Sanders and hood hit the market. The biggest decision the Steelers will have to make with Worilds is to determine if his break-out season in 2013 was the result of him finally coming into his own in the defense, or a push for a contract.
No running backs in the first round of the draft again?
As Ray Fittipaldo of the PPG points out, we might have another NFL Draft where no running backs are taken in the first round. The draft is expected to be deep with wide receivers and defensive players but there don’t appear to be any franchise running backs standing out in the class of potential rookies. Last year, for the first time in 50 years, a running back was not selected in the first round of the draft. It very well may happen again.
What are your thoughts, Steeler Nation? Do you like the Steelers chances of getting salary cap complaint now that the cap was increased? Do you think the Steelers will retain their sought-after free agents? Do you think any running backs will be taken in the first round of the draft?
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