Steelers FA Safety Target Tyrann Mathieu Met with Eagles

The Philadelphia Eagles met with Pittsburgh Steelers free agent safety target Tyrann Mathieu virtually on Thursday as first reported by Ian Rapoport. Mathieu conducted this visit after recently meeting with the New Orleans Saints in person.

Mathieu is the top remaining free agent on the market, but hasn’t gone on any visits since his first visit with the Saints earlier this week. The former Kansas City Chief is coming off his third-consecutive Pro Bowl season. Despite making three Pro Bowls and two All-Pro first teams in three seasons with the Chiefs, Mathieu said that the organization didn’t even offer him a contract which left him heartbroken. The team instead chose to sign free agent Justin Reid.

The Philadelphia Eagles have a need at safety as they chose not to bring back Rodney McLeod. While they made the playoffs last season, the team is still in the midst of a small rebuild with four first-round picks over the next two years. Mathieu could keep help keep them in contention while they build the team around young quarterback Jalen Hurts. Mathieu is a three-time All Pro and four-time Pro Bowler. He has 26 career interceptions with half of them coming within just the last three seasons.

The Pittsburgh Steelers are pursuing Mathieu to pair with star safety Minkah Fitzpatrick to form one of the most dynamic safety combinations in the history of the NFL. The organization still needs a starting safety opposite Fitzpatrick as they declined to pick up Terrell Edmunds’ fifth-year rookie option prior to last season. Edmunds remains as a free agent and has an option to sign back with Pittsburgh, as his market has yet to materialize.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers signed former Dallas Cowboys safety Keanu Neal on Thursday, further narrowing the free agent safety market. If the Steelers don’t land Mathieu or Edmunds, they may have to turn their focus to the 2022 NFL Draft. The team has scouted potential first-round safety options Kyle Hamilton, Lewis Cine and Dax Hill at their pro days.