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The Steelers signed 2008 NFL Defensive Player of the Year James Harrison to a six-year, $51.75 million contract on Monday, replacing a contract that would have paid Harrison $1.4 million in 2009.
The contract is a nice one for Harrison, a 31-year old OLB, and certainly not as ridiculous as handing a 320-pound (or more) defensive tackle with penchant for stomping on people’s faces with his cleats and possibly taking non-contract seasons off a record breaking $100+ million deal.
But, looking back at the Steelers history, one has to wonder if the extension for Harrison is sign of a new philosophy in Pittsburgh, in theory being driven by coach Mike Tomlin, who has a reputation as being more of a “Player’s Coach” than Bill Cowher or Chuck Noll ever were.
In the past, Pittsburgh has let several big name LBs leave in the middle of what would be considered my many their prime, or at the very worst just past their prime–seemingly always considering the system more important than the player.
The Philadelphia Eagles have been relatively busy this free agency. Unfortunately for Eagles fans, they’ve spent more time waving goodbye to former All-Pros than welcoming players to the fold.
First it was Drian Dawkins leaving for Denver. Most recently it was Tra Thomas heading to Jacksonville. In between they’ve lost or traded role players Correll Buckhalter, Lito Sheppard, Greg Lewis and Sean Considine.
Donovan McNabb wrote on his blog that he “will always regret not having the chance to win a championship with these guys.” (Technically he did have a chance, but I think we get his point).
Andy already threw out Miles Austin as one potential sleeper for 2009, with T.O. no longer causing headaches in Dallas.
Another player that could move up draft boards come August thanks to T.O. landing in Buffalo is Marshawn Lynch. After bursting on the scene with 1,115 yards as a rookie in 2007, Lynch took a bit of a step back in 2008 with just 1,036 yards in 2008. This was partially due to the emergence of Fred Jackson as a capable backup, and partially due to some injuries suffered–although Lynch appeared in 15 games.
Additionally, in 2008 he actually scored more touchdowns on the ground (8 vs 7), slightly improved his yards per carry numbers (4.1 from 4.0), and got himself more involved in the passing game (47 receptions for 300 yards and a TD, vs 18-184-0 in his rookie season).
While the Bills have been making some changes to the offensive line that could impact Lynch’s ability to find holes in 2009, the addition of Owens on the outside should help keep defenses a little more honest when it comes to moving a safety up in the box.
In fact, if James Hardy can show signs of improvement in his second season, Lynch could possibly even crack our 2009 draft board top 10.
When I was short a running back late last season one of the guys I tried to acquire was Jacksonville’s Maurice Jones Drew.
The guy had a rough opening to the season, as he continued sharing time with 87-year-old Fred Taylor and the team’s offensive line fell victim to a ridiculous spate of injuries and mediocre play.
But as the season wore on, Jones-Drew got stronger and as he has done throughout his career, he continued to be a touchdown machine, scoring 15 in 2008 despite starting just one game and touching the gall just 212 times.
Jones-Drew was already likely to improve upon his numbers in 2009 just based on the likelihood that the offensive line would be more healthy (center Brad Meester missed time with a biceps injury and guards Vince Manuwai and Maurice Williams missed all but the season opener due to injuries and backup Richard Collier had his career ended by a gunshot wound shortly before the season started).
I’ve been trying for a few days now to figure out the fantasy ramifications for Trent Edwards, Marshawn Lynch, Lee Evans and other Buffalo Bills now that they’ve picked up Terrell Owens. Sure, Roscoe Parrish and Josh Reed weren’t cutting it as number two wideouts, helping make Evans one of fantasy’s most frustrating potential stars.
But Owens’ history, admitted or not, of being a jagoff of a teammate makes me nervous that the youngster Edwards could get rattled and curl up in the fetal position on the 50 yard line.
Hopefully he’s stronger than that, but it leaves me with no idea yet how to look at the Buffalo Bills’ skill players heading into the middle of free agency. I’ll leave you with a link to ffchamps.com, where Anthony Maggio, whom we occasionally contact for insight and who also writes the blog Punting Baxter, wrote an extensive piece outlining his thoughts on Owens’ contributions.
One person in Dallas I think might be an overlooked beneficiary of Owens’ departure is little-known Miles Austin.
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