2013 FA Thread (Updates on OP) New: Merling, Brace, Pashos, Trueblood, EJBig, Tapp, White, Williams, MATTHEWS; Re-up: Rex, Hall, Davis, Paulsen, DY, RJax, Lich, Sundberg, Baker, Sav, Golston, Kehl, Polumbus; Paycuts: Carriker, Moss, BMeri, J. Wilson

[SemperFi Skins]

Steelers | Not looking to re-sign players




Thu, 17 Jan 2013 11:07:19 -0800

The Pittsburgh Steelers aren't intent on looking to re-sign impending free-agent WR Mike Wallace, CB Keenan Lewis, OT Max Starks, DT Casey Hampton, LB Larry Foote or OG Ramon Foster.


Read more: http://www.kffl.com/player/20841/nfl/news#ixzz2IGQcGjnL

I've already mentioned him and DC9 thanks for puting him in the OP.... but Keenan Lewis is nasty and underrated. He needs to be signed here. This is really good news.

---------- Post added January-17th-2013 at 02:59 PM ----------

Also, for all those who don't know..... A MUST SIGN GUY....

NT/DT Shaun Cody....

8 year veteran, drafter in 2nd round by Lions. Teammates (JJ Watt, Bradie James, Arian Foster, Schaub, etc.) describe him as probably the funniest and best locker room guys ever.

It's also nice to see that JJ Watt absolutely loves when Cody is on the field because he eats up blockers and allowed JJ to have the season he did. This would allow some of the nastiest D Lines we've ever had. I certainly do not have the faith some have here in Nield and we could rotate Cofield to DE

We'd have Cofield/Cody/Carriker - - Bowen/Baker/Jenkins

Now don't get it confused, Cofield has done an excellent job at NT but I think he would just be absolutely dominant on the end. He's noteably our best D Lineman.

He was rarely injured at all before this year but that injury just may lower his price a good bit.

He's listed as 6'4, 310lbs.

He's not young, but he's certainly not done at just 29 years old.

Wow, we'd just have the nastiest D, I can't even imagine.

[Momma There Goes That Man]

Steelers | Not looking to re-sign players

The Pittsburgh Steelers aren't intent on looking to re-sign impending free-agent WR Mike Wallace, CB Keenan Lewis, OT Max Starks, DT Casey Hampton, LB Larry Foote or OG Ramon Foster.

Also, for all those who don't know..... A MUST SIGN GUY....

NT/DT Shaun Cody....

Sounds like 2 good players and I agree about the Dline potential you mentioned. I don't know alot about either player though, do you think they will be cheaper under the radar players or are we going to get into a bidding war?

---------- Post added January-17th-2013 at 03:16 PM ----------

I'm not advocating this by any means but it'd be worth a look to see what he wants...

Reggie Bush... He's the ideal change of pace back.
.

I doubt we could afford him but Bush would be the exact type of playmaker we need on offense. He could run the option, be a 3rd down/change of pace back or line up in the slot at WR with Morris in the backfield. Basically Percy Harvin but more of a RB and with less baggage. His potential would be maximized in this offense for sure. Morris bruises the defense and then Bush comes in and just runs loose. Ah, to dream...

[Alcoholic Zebra]

Wait, they DON'T want their young corner Keenan Lewis back? Am I missing something? PFF has him rated well and he's part of a pretty good pass defense. I know he's not their best corner, but their best corner is going to be 33. Are they just REALLY over the cap or something?

[SemperFi Skins]

Sounds like 2 good players and I agree about the Dline potential you mentioned. I don't know alot about either player though, do you think they will be cheaper under the radar players or are we going to get into a bidding war?

Keenan Lewis is greatly UNDERrated. If you watch him play, he can lock on to the #1 player and it seems the Steelers are not going to honor it. He wants to stay but is kind of getting the ole' boot in the rear. No way will he demand top corner money since he's young and just coming in to his potential. Teams will benefit from the fact that he was just coming in to be a full time starter before the season ended. I would expect a middle of the pack salary and definitely doable.

Shaun Cody is a tremendous athlete. He also has a knack for double teams and passes deflected if you watch the games. With his injury this past year, I believe it was a back injury, it only allowed him to play for 2 games or so. This would make his price drop dramatically but luckily he came back healthy before the season ended so there shouldn't really be any question marks to his health. Our biggest concern would be the Texans wanting to resign him because he's definitely a lockerroom favorite. I'd say he commands about 1.75/ mil per year and if we could get him on a 2 year contract with playoff incentives, that would be perfect for us. (he's currently making 2.25/mil.)

---------- Post added January-17th-2013 at 03:20 PM ----------

Wait, they DON'T want their young corner Keenan Lewis back? Am I missing something? PFF has him rated well and he's part of a pretty good pass defense. I know he's not their best corner, but their best corner is going to be 33. Are they just REALLY over the cap or something?

Yes... they can't afford crap this year which is awesome. And he's not their best corner, YET, only due to playing time but he led the league in passes defended in the second half of the season. One more year (hopefully with us) and I think he'll have his own "Lewis Island"

---------- Post added January-17th-2013 at 03:22 PM ----------

I doubt we could afford him but Bush would be the exact type of playmaker we need on offense. He could run the option, be a 3rd down/change of pace back or line up in the slot at WR with Morris in the backfield. Basically Percy Harvin but more of a RB and with less baggage. His potential would be maximized in this offense for sure. Morris bruises the defense and then Bush comes in and just runs loose. Ah, to dream...

And... returns punts and kickoffs with pure explosiveness, dont forget

[Momma There Goes That Man]

...he's young and just coming in to his potential. Teams will benefit from the fact that he was just coming in to be a full time starter before the season ended. I would expect a middle of the pack salary and definitely doable.

Shaun Cody is a tremendous athlete. He also has a knack for double teams and passes deflected....I'd say he commands about 1.75/ mil per year and if we could get him on a 2 year contract with playoff incentives, that would be perfect for us. (he's currently making 2.25/mil.)

Lewis sounds like the exact type of players that Shanny has targeted to build this team around. Young, fairly priced and just entering their prime. I need to check out some film on him. That has me pretty excited though. Could be a great addition if turns out.

Cody sounds like he will be dirt cheap compared to the most of the rest of our DLine lol. Good thing the injury bug bit him but it would be a good gamble to try to load up the DLine with and if it doesn't work out, we aren't out a whole lot.

Seems like 2 great ideas...hope they work out.

[DC9]

I've already mentioned him and DC9 thanks for puting him in the OP.... but Keenan Lewis is nasty and underrated. He needs to be signed here. This is really good news.

I didn't even know who he was until I saw him play in the Ravens game @ Baltimore the week before they played us. He was fantastic. I'd love to land this guy. Long and atheletic with great fluidity in the hips. Rarely saw him out of position. That kind of athleticism is rare in bigger corners. I'd love to get him in here early.

[J-bomb]

Wrs coach Ike Hillard signs with Buffalo....do we sign another wr coach in 3 yrs?

[S.T.real,lights,out]

Cody is a MUST sign...NT's can play for a long long time. They dont have to be very fast just need to take up space. How old was the NT for the Pats a few years ago.....cant remember his name...thought he was upper 30's and he did a good job

Ted Washington is the guy played till he was 39

[SemperFi Skins]

Lewis sounds like the exact type of players that Shanny has targeted to build this team around. Young, fairly priced and just entering their prime. I need to check out some film on him. That has me pretty excited though. Could be a great addition if turns out.

Cody sounds like he will be dirt cheap compared to the most of the rest of our DLine lol. Good thing the injury bug bit him but it would be a good gamble to try to load up the DLine with and if it doesn't work out, we aren't out a whole lot.

Seems like 2 great ideas...hope they work out.

Lewis stabilized what had been a troublesome position for years, the cornerback spot opposite Ike Taylor that once alternated between Bryant McFadden and William Gay, and it‘s likely the Steelers would prefer to keep him more than any of the other 17 unrestricted free agents.

“I want everybody back, especially Keenan,” safety Ryan Clark said. “His play was a big reason why we finished No. 1 in yards. When we have him, it makes it a lot better.”

But it would cost $10.66 million to franchise him — one route to retaining him without giving him a multiyear deal — and that‘s unlikely given the Steelers are well over the salary cap.

If Lewis signs elsewhere, Cortez Allen becomes the next man up. He helped create five turnovers in the final two games and would start if Lewis leaves.

But that would significantly weaken a position of strength, nickel back, given that Allen graded out the highest of any Steelers defensive back in Pro Football Focus‘ play-by-play analysis. Ranked No. 17 league-wide, Allen (563 snaps) gave up only one touchdown but played the second-fewest snaps of any cornerback in the top 20.


Read more: http://triblive.com/sports/steelers/...#ixzz2IGeBU3Rn
Follow us: @triblive on Twitter | triblive on Facebook

---------- Post added January-17th-2013 at 03:43 PM ----------

Most likely departure: Lewis, if he elects to go into free agency.

Read more: http://triblive.com/sports/steelers/...#ixzz2IGedB3wT
Follow us: @triblive on Twitter | triblive on Facebook

[Dukes and Skins]

signing Keenan Lewis would be one of the best moves possible for the Redskins

[SemperFi Skins]

With NT Shaun Cody missing three games with back injuries, the Texans have gotten great contributions stuffing the run from backup Earl Mitchell. Although coordinator Wade Phillips likes Mitchell at end, where Mitchell can use his explosiveness more to get upfield, word is Cody, whose contract expires after the season, is unlikely to be with the Texans in 2013.

http://www.yardbarker.com/all_sports..._2013/12393616

---------- Post added January-17th-2013 at 03:52 PM ----------

signing Keenan Lewis would be one of the best moves possible for the Redskins

Thank you Sir. I'm all about getting guys in here that most don't even know about.... Especially when our team can not afford the top (most expensive) FA players at every position. All I needed was the "eye" test with Lewis before I even knew he'd be a FA this season.

My ex is a huge Steelers family and I watched a ton of their games... I always caught myself saying "damn, this kids a natural." He's all around the ball. He doesn't even need to blanket his man because he closes so darn fast. The dude can flat out defend passes and take his man out of the play... Couldn't happier with him possibly joining our roster.





Dukes - Without even looking in to his background.... He's a natural in the NFL. I won't even Google him. I'll let you do your thing and give us some background on him from college play if you wouldn't mind...

[Dukes and Skins]

Well to be honest I didn't scout Keenan Lewis coming out, so I can't speak on that

[ZRagone]

Steelers | Not looking to re-sign players

Beautiful! I think I was the first on the thread waving the Lewis banner and DEFINITELY think this is THE guy we should be looking at for CB. In many ways, I'd view him in a way similar to Garcon. Pay him less than a true #1 CB, but pay him more than a team may expect he'd get. I think he has the talent, skills, and experience to be a legit starting #1 CB in the league. This would allow Wilson to be our #2 guy and, if we rework his contract, Hall being a very good #3 guy. Crawford and Minnifield would give us young depth and our potential replacement for Hall and then Wilson down the line.

Lewis is not going to be a "top 3" guy in this market most likely.....Grimes, DRC, and Talib will all be bigger names in Free Agency. So I think we can get him for a reasonable price in terms of his potential, even if we may need to outbid some other teams a bit.

Give me an off-season where we get Lewis at CB and Kenny Phillips at Safety to sure up our secondary, and get a deal down with Davis at TE, and I'll consider free agency a positive period for us this year. Landing an upgrade at RT would just be icing on top of the cake in such a situation.

Young, talented w/ potential, but likely to be do able within our cap situation. That's the way we need to go.

[sjinhan]

I don't know.., this Keenan Lewis guy sounds like he is going to get decent $$ in FA. Can we afford him? is the real question.

I would rather spend the money to shore up wider range of positions than spend too much $$ on one player due to our cap penalty.

Reggie Bush is an interesting thought if he doesnt get too much interested in the FA.

[Alcoholic Zebra]

I think we can now unanimously agree. Keenan Lewis should be one of our top targets in FA.

---------- Post added January-17th-2013 at 04:46 PM ----------

I don't know.., this Keenan Lewis guy sounds like he is going to get decent $$ in FA. Can we afford him? is the real question.

I would rather spend the money to shore up wider range of positions than spend too much $$ on one player due to our cap penalty.

I don't think he will. He's been underhyped and flies under the radar. He's not high profile enough to get the big bucks (I think).

Reggie Bush is an interesting thought if he doesnt get too much interested in the FA.

I don't think he fits our system well, and he's the opposite example of who we want. He's way overhyped and will get too much money.