After a season that clearly lacked veteran leadership, work ethic and consistency, the Steelers have made a move to return to their old ways: they've brought back their old players. Along with re-signing safety Ryan Clark and Casey Hampton to big deals, the Steelers signed beloved WR Antwaan Randle El and in recent news, LB Larry Foote to new deals this year.
All of these players, save Clark, were drafted and molded by the Steelers Organization, and each of these veterans has proven their value to the team-evidently enough to deserve a contract to come back.
It is also noteworthy that the two guys returning after they've played for other teams, Foote and Randle El, are guys that left the team directly after they won the super bowl; Randle El left after the 05 SB, while Foote departed after the 08 SB. It is evident that these guys were key starters during our super bowl runs, and following each of their departures the team had disappointing seasons, missing the playoffs on both occasions. I'm not saying that their respective absences were the main reason for the bad seasons, but rather that they were important components to the Steelers.
Foote immediately adds needed depth to the linebacking corps for the Steelers. Before Foote signed, only Keyaron Fox showed any ability to start at the linebacker position for the Steelers. Foote was originally drafted to eventually replace James Farrior at ILB once the defensive captain grew old, but after a dominating performance in the 2008 season, Foote's value declined with a younger and faster Lawrence Timmons waiting in the wings.
But as Timmons replaced Foote this year, Farrior began to show is age and had one of his worst seasons as a Steeler. Timmons also didn't have the year that the organization expected him to, as it took him a while to warm up to his starting role.
Farrior wont lose his starting role completely, but Foote is young enough and talented enough to replace Farrior once the veteran is too old to play every snap. It also gives Farrior the needed competition to push him to play at his highest level again, something that forced #51 into a monster season in 08.
Randle El adds some nice depth to the receiving corps, and it injects some needed spunk and leadership to the locker room. The speedy smiler was never adequately used by the Redskins, and I don't blame him for returning to an organization that appreciates and utilizes him. He'll be a great compliment to the speed of Wallace, while providing a dependable set of hands in the slot if Ward starts to age. His signing can be directly linked to the failure of Limas Sweed as a receiver. He has the hands, the speed, and the leadership that Sweed will never provide. He can also mentor Wallace and Holmes, and provide competition for both of them while Ward's on-field presence declines as we all know it will unfortunately do this year.
Resigning Hampton and Clark is a no-brainer for the team, as the two were some of the few dependable starters on the defense, and will continue to provide the needed buffer to defend the run and pass.
I know what you're thinking, this isn't the Steeler way to do things. In my last article, I pointed out that the Steelers are operating in a much more flexible manner than usual in this year's free agency period. Most of this, of course, is due to the uncapped year that the league is facing. But one thing to remember, is that the Steelers arent' going overboard.
They didn't sign Willie Parker to a new deal, and hesitated to resign several other Steelers including WR Limas Sweed, OG Darnell Stapleton, and veteran DB Deshea Townsend. The Black and Gold have publicly stated their intentions to impose their own cap on the year, in order to create a safety net should a cap be put into place next year.
The Steelers are in good shape. Their moves make the clear statement that the organization intends to make yet another run at a championship this year, but they have the brains and instinct to bring back the right players with the right mindset, while imposing their own guidelines to ensure success in the future. Kudos the the Black and Gold
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