Last season I did the Friday Night Steelers Six Pack and wondered if it was worth doing further. After all, interaction was not great, and sometimes you just have to adjust. So I decided to call an audible, and not just abandon the Friday night meeting of the black-and-gold minds.
Instead of six questions, I wanted to focus solely on one question.
We’ll still do the preamble of what you’re eating/drinking/listening to, but we’ll focus our attention on the one Steelers question of the week. Don’t worry, most weeks I’ll do a bonus/extra credit question for fun. With all that out of the way, let’s get to the question!
With free agency just a few weeks away, is Pittsburgh still an attractive free agent destination?
There are a lot of layers to all of this. One layer is how Mike Tomlin, who did attract a lot of players who wanted to play for him, is no longer with the team. Does McCarthy draw that type of player who has options and is weighing them in his own way? Another layer is if the Steelers are deemed to be a team this particular player can not just develop, but win? Sure, they’ll win their share of games, but are they a true contender? Lastly, and the most important part for free agent players, are the Steelers willing to pay the most money?
While the NFLPA grades are no longer happening, I think fans put too much stock into things like locker rooms and training facilities. They might not be state-of-the-art, but what players care about most is what team is willing to pay them the most. If there are two teams offering essentially the same thing, then they might weigh other factors like coaches, cities, and facilities. But most of all, it comes down to who will be paying them more.
With that said, I’m not sure if Pittsburgh would fall into the top tier of attractive destinations on the free agent market. This is all uncharted territory with Mike McCarthy at the helm, so we’ll have to see how things go.
What about you? Do you think Pittsburgh is still an attractive destination for free agents?
As for what I’m eating, we are having a roast in the oven with potatoes and a salad. As for drink, it’s store bought kombucha, as always. And the the music will probably be the Grateful Dead on vinyl.
Happy Friday everyone!!